White Paper
by Ashi Ruby
Summary: Konan is the beautiful president of Spring Green Academy's Origami Club. Pein is the handsome, bad boy new student. Two completely different people collide, but will their clash really be that horrible? AU. PeinKonan. Rated M for rape references.
1. Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: My first PeinKonan story! Hopefully you'll bare with me as I try something new. It's an AU story, but it'll be fun, I promise.

White Paper

Chapter One: Meeting

It was bright, sunny, warm Monday morning in the city of Amekagure, a happy change for the city that often was soaked with rain.

For the younger generation of this city, it was a fresh morning for the thousands of students attending the many schools starting their first full week of the school year, carrying books, lunches, pencils, and assorted other materials for classes based on what was needed. From the littlest child going to preschool with a parent holding their hand to the highest level of students going in a group towards their respective building, the streets were busy with all the different walks of school life.

One of Amekagure's top schools, Spring Green Academy, stood the tallest in the city, right outside of the downtown district. The building was old, from the late 1800s, and was originally used as a church, but was renovated and turned into a school in the early 1900s, and now hosted a melting pot of students.

One of these students was the beautiful, blue-haired president of the Origami Club, Konan Nagato.

Pushing up her black-rimmed glasses onto her nose, she straightened her books in her arms, her dark eyes looking up at the lovely green leaves and blossom buds forming on the trees. The wind, calm and sweet, rustled her blue skirt modestly and the backflap of her collar flowed against her back. She smiled softly, enthralled into the amazing spring day that surrounded her. Part of her hair was clipped back by a silver hairpin, allowing the rest to flow freely around her neck.

"Konan!"

She stopped at the call of her name, turning around to see the familiar pink hair and green eyes of best friend and classmate Sakura Haruno. "Hello Sakura. I didn't think you were going to be here today; I thought you were going to be with Moegi for Show and Tell," Konan said with a smile. Sakura just grinned, brushing her short hair behind her ear, "Nah. Mom is going with her instead so I could go to school today. Besides, I told her that today was the first meeting of the Origami Club, and with me being Vice-President, I wanted to be there."

"True. I do need my second-in-command."

"Heck yeah. 'Cause we all know the club would collapse without me."

Konan stuck out her tongue at her best friend as Sakura wrapped an arm around her shoulder and continued their walk towards the building.

* * *

"Did you hear?"

"About the cute new transfer student? Yeah, I've heard!"

"I heard this is his third time being transferred to a school. He kept getting kicked out of schools for fighting and stuff..."

"Man, if he tried that stuff here at Spring Green, he'll be out of Amekagure!"

Sakura placed down her backpack, straightening out the ruffles in her black top, "Wow, the population seems to be abuzz with rumors about some new guy. Seems interesting, huh Konan?" The blue-haired girl just shrugged her shoulders, "Not really. I rather be focusing on what we're doing in class, then the agenda for Origami Club today."

"Man, you're not fun."

"I'm task-focused."

"AKA not fun."

Konan shrugged her shoulders again, pulling out her notebook and a pencil, "Well, you can stare at the new guy all you want; I'm going to take notes that you'll probably copy later."

Sakura glared at her best friend, then sighed as she took her seat in the desk behind her, pulling out a book to read as Konan became drawn into her daily preparations.

* * *

"Okay, students. Get to your seats, and don't dally on the way! We have a new student joining our school this year, so show him that we are respectful members of Spring Green," said Miss Shizune, one of the school's youngest History teachers. She tapped a piece of chalk on the blackboard behind her, rapping attention to the front as the students all followed orders.

"Now, I'm sure most of you have heard that we did get a new student at Spring Green, and he is going to be attending this class. So please, be kind in welcoming him. You may come in now," Miss Shizune said, motioning to the door.

Sakura poked at Konan's shoulder, forcing her to look up from her origami patterns book to see the new student walk in. He wore just white and black, the top of his shirt partly unbuttoned to reveal a black, spiky necklace. His reddish-orange hair was spiky, and for a moment the two girls wondered if it was natural or was the aftereffect of too much hairgel. His nose, ears, and even his bottom lip has black-studded piercings, something that seemed to have surprise and excite the female population of the classroom.

"Wow, he's so hot!"

"Man, check out the piercings! Those must've hurt!"

"Oh...his hair is just so freaking cool!"

Miss Shizune sighed, trying her best to ignoring the whispering gossip and reminding herself that the piercing-tattoos-self-mutilation was just a phase teens loved to go through. "Quiet class. Now, will you please introduce yourself?" she said, motioning to him as he overlooked the classroom with his abnormal gray eyes.

"My name is Pein Yahiko. I like rock and heavy metal music. I hate homework. That's all."

The class was silent for a few moments, then the gossip began again, all the while Miss Shizune felt the urge to slam her head onto her desk.

"Hey, Konan. Doesn't the new guy look simply delicious? Sure, I'm not a fan of all the piercings, but without them...man, that would be pretty fine, right?" Sakura asked in a whisper, nudging her best friend's shoulder suggestively. Konan just shrugged, "Not really. He seems like a normal teen going through that phase in his life where self-expression is key to figuring out who you really are."

Sakura sweatdropped, "You are too much the philosopher."

"Konan, please raise your hand."

The blue-haired girl looked up at the call of her name, raising her hand at the request, "Yes Miss Shizune?"

"By request of the Ms. Kono, Pein is to be escorted around the school today. Will you please do so? Of course, you will be excused from class today, and I will give you a copy of the notes."

She nodded as she stood up, ignoring Sakura's whisper of "lucky" under her breath, and walked towards the new boy, leading him outside the classroom and shutting the door silently behind her.

* * *

"This is the cafeteria. The meals in here are all right, but I do recommend bringing your own lunch to break up some of the monotony," Konan said, leading Pein through the large, nearly empty room, "On that side, there is plenty of vending machines with soda, snacks, and some food items, so you can always make a lunch out of that. There is a microwave available for student use, but it's never put out until the lunch hour."

"I see."

"Over here is the gym. If no one told you, Spring Green has an excellent athletic background as well as academic. Above the main gym, we also have our large pool, as well as the weight room."

"Interesting."

She looked over her shoulder at the spiky-haired teen and sighed, leading him up the staircase on the other side of the gym.

"You like origami, don't you?"

A thin brow raised curiously as she stopped on the staircase, "Excuse me?"

"I saw you reading a book on origami patterns, and mimicking them with your fingers," Pein said simply, his observing gray eyes watching her intently, waiting for an answer to his previous question. "Yes, I do like origami. To be honest, I'm the president of the school's Origami Club. It's my dearest hobby," she said, turning around and continuing the descent up the stairs.

"Have you ever made a thousand paper cranes?"

Konan never stopped or turned towards him, "No. I don't believe in those childish things."

* * *

The day went on as it should, and the Origami Club went on without complications, although Konan was a little sad at the lack of members that filled the seats of the club's appointed classroom. When the clock struck 4:00, the club was indeed over and the members filed out, ready to go home, while the blue-haired president stayed behind to clean up the scraps and discarded items.

Too engrossed in her thoughts of cleaning that she didn't even sense the arrival of someone standing in the doorway of the classroom.

"I see by the mess, the meeting was successful, Miss President."

Konan looked up from her broom and dustpan to see Pein leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and his ever-watching eyes observing her every move. "It was, but you are way past late. If you are interested in joining the Origami Club, come to our meeting next Monday," she said, "We are always interested in--"

"I'm not interested in joining. Watching is more my style."

Tan eyes followed as Pein crossed the room, towards the desk where Konan's papers were resting in a carefully straight pile. He picked up one, a white piece, and placed it on the desk beside the pile, his fingers starting to delicately fold the paper.

"I'm not interested in origami. However, my mother did show me one pattern when I was a child. For a funny reason or another, I still remember it. Can you tell what I'm doing by my folding?"

Konan nodded, "You're making the rose pattern. It's a delicate pattern, and is usually done by those more familiar with origami folds."

"Yes. My mother loved origami. At one point, she made bouquets of paper roses and placed them all over the house, just to celebrate her hobby. She is also the one that told me that making a thousand paper cranes with a wish will make it come true," he said, making one last fold on his rose, "Now, as for that being true, I'm not sure, but I do know this: it was something that was just for a child to believe in."

She was taken aback by his statement as he stepped towards her, eyes widened slightly as his fingers delicately threaded the rose into her hairpin. "A white paper rose for a beautiful blue-haired angel. I think that fits," he said with a smirk, causing her to blush a bright red.

"H-hey! Wh-what gives you the right to...I'm not..."

"See you around, Konan."

She watched as he walked casually out of the room, leaving her to still clutch at her broom and dustpan.

"He's...different...Pein Yahiko..." she muttered softly, lifting a hand to gently brush over the paper flower now embedded into her hair.

* * *

Tada, the first chapter complete! Yep, there is still more PeinKonan goodness to come, and there will be some awesome moments later involving Sakura and our favorite Akatsuki members soon. So stay tuned for more!


	2. Annoying

Author's Note: Thanks to a small outburst from a friend on the Anime Central boards, no, this is not based on the Naruto school-based special. This is my own idea, although I do admit it was inspired a bit by very awesome Pein and Konan cosplay during the Friday photoshoot, as well as my own thoughts on a picture I took during the shoot.

Chapter Two: Annoying

Konan looked up from her textbook as the phone on her desk rang, her hand leaving its position on the book to pick up the receiver, "Hello?"

"_Hey, Konan. It's Sakura."_

"Hey Sakura. What's up? You know it's homework time."

"_Yeah, I know, which is what I'm calling about. I know you got the notes from Miss Shizune, and I did take notes from her lecture, but I'm so stuck on Question Five on her homework assignment. Seriously, where is it? I'm so lost."_

"Look at page fifty-three and start reading from the paragraph under the red heading. The answer is in that section. I'm not giving you the answer."

"_Gee, thanks. Sarcasm joking. Anyway, thank you Konan; seriously, at my rate I'd get every question done on the homework BUT that one!"_

"Heh, talk to you later Sakura. Oh, and by the way, next time you call someone, turn down the music. Seriously, I can start singing karaoke to Willa Ford just by being on the phone with you."

"_Hey, no dissing! Besides, you love her too!"_

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, bye Sakura."

"_Later."_

The blue-haired teen smiled, shaking her head as she hung up the phone, picking up her concentration back to her homework. With a few more strokes of her pencil, she completed the assignment and closed the textbook, paper inside, then stretched her arms high to the ceiling before falling back onto her bed.

"Whew...it seems like every year the homework gets harder and more numerous, and being a senior doesn't make it easier," she muttered, running a hand through her hair.

Until her fingers met the paper rose that was held tightly in her hairpin. Her body froze for a second as words echoed through her memory, along the sight of gray, ever-observing eyes.

"_A white paper rose for a beautiful blue-haired angel. I think that fits."_

Her fingers traced the paper folds, finding again no faults in the delicate flower. "That guy...he's different, weird...but if he was to get into origami, he would be perfect in it," she said, pulling out the hairpin and holding the rose in her hands over her face, "One of the most delicate patterns...and he did it flawlessly."

* * *

"Ouch! Damn, un! Be careful, you idiot! I don't want a freaking bruise, un!"

"Well, that's what happens when you're a fighting partner, little girl."

"Shut up, Sasori, un. Freaking asshole."

Pein sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow, "Deidara, I thought you were my partner. You can fight with Sasori in bed tonight." The blue-eyed blonde glared angrily, "Stop saying I'm freaking gay! Ugh, you are just as annoying as Kisame, un!"

Sasori chuckled, then also glared at the redhead teen, "Really, Pein, you need to stop spreading that rumor around the group. Besides, why would I be gay with that girly freak?"

"Screw you!"

"No thanks."

"Think fast, Deidara."

Deidara had almost no time to react as Pein started another flurry of punches and kicks towards him, all for him to defend. "Damn, give me a chance to react first, un!" he yelled.

Sasori sighed, taking a drink of his soda as he watched the pair practice, "I got to ask, what brought on the urge to practice today? Usually, you rather wait until the weekends and kick everybody's asses, but instead you dragged Deidara out here. Who ticked you off at your new school already?"

"No one ticked me off. Trust me, I'm not trying to get kicked out of this school like the others; so far I like this one."

"So why the urge to fight, un?"

Pein sent a roundhouse kick towards Deidara, his foot narrowly hitting the blonde's large ponytail, "I need a distraction more than anything. My thoughts right now is definitely not on homework."

* * *

Konan groaned as she kicked her locker, trying to yet again open it. "Ugh, I hate this thing," she muttered under her breath, messing around with the combination lock and receiving no effort for her work.

"Allow me."

She stepped back as a pale hand came into her eyesight, pulling up at the doorlock and giving the door a rough kick open. She looked up to see the confident smirk of Pein Yahiko motioning towards the locker, "There you go, milady."

"Thank you. I hate this thing. I'm so tempted to go to Student Services and ask for a new locker."

"Or ask for repairs on yours?"

"Something, at least, yeah."

Pein chuckled, leaning against the lockers, watching as she took care of her belongings, straightening out things on the door that had fallen off and grabbing books for her classes that day. "So..." Konan said without looking away from the shelf, "Why are you still here? You received your thanks for a good deed, unless you are still lost in trying to get your classes."

"No. You're amusing to watch, Konan."

"Excuse me?"

"I love to watch amusing things and people. You are certainly an amusing person."

A thin brow quirked as she looked past her locker door to see a bemused smirk and gray eyes watching her intently. She sighed, "You're annoying. And saying things like that make you sound like a stalker."

"Oh? I'm annoying? Then why, milady, are you wearing that paper flower if I'm annoying to you?" he asked, his fingers going over the rose embedded in Konan's hairpin before flowing down to run through her bangs. With force she pulled her head away, glaring at him with angered tan eyes, although her cheeks were a delicate shade of red.

"It was a gift. If someone gives me a gift, I will make use for it. As for yours, I will wear it in my hairpin," she said, and she noticed quite quickly Pein's smirk widening. "Oh, so say if someone gave you a thong, you would wear it as well?"

Her face deepened in its shade and she stormed back from him, slamming her locker door hard in anger. "Ugh! Not only are you annoying, you're a pervert! And you're probably some sort of a masochist; I mean, with all the piercings that must have hurt," she said, ranting as she turned and walked away, "Seriously, what kind of--"

Konan found herself cut off when she found herself meeting face-first with another person. She looked up to see a pair of pale eyes, unique to the members of the Hyuuga family, glaring at her. "Neji Hyuuga! Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bump into you," she said quickly, moving the side of him as she spoke her apologies, "I guess I was too busy with my ranting and I didn't pay attention to where I was going. Please forgive me."

The brown-haired Hyuuga scowled at her, giving her a small push out of his way before walking past, "Pay better attention next time, Paper Doll." Konan flinched slightly at the force, then sighed as he moved on without anything else said.

"Hey. When a lady apologizes, it's best to accept it, and not insult her."

Konan looked up from the floor in surprise to see Pein standing in front of Neji. "Wait. Pein, what are you doing? It's your second day here; don't get into a fight!" she hissed, pulling at his arm with no avail.

"Don't worry, Konan," he whispered with a smirk, "This won't take long."

She shut her eyes tightly as a crowd began to gather and the first punch was sent out. By who, she really didn't knew or cared; she just knew she heard someone hit the ground.

* * *

"Okay..." said Ms. Tsunade Kono, "Who would like to explain first?"

Konan sighed, raising her hand as she sat between two bandaged guys, "I'll speak, Ms. Kono. You see, it started when Pein and I had a conversation by my locker. Part of the conversation that I don't want to get into started to irritate me, so I ranted and walked away, but without paying attention I bumped into Neji. I apologized, but I get the feeling our run-in may have irritated him more, and Pein had decided to step in and defend my honor in the situation. Although I didn't see who sent the first punch, I did try to stop the fight."

The busty principle nodded, then turned towards the two boys, "Either of you want to speak next?" Neji shrugged his shoulders and Pein just nodded towards Konan, acknowledging her story. She sighed, tapping her pen against the desk, "All right. Konan, I'll cut you slack since you weren't directly involved. Now, Neji, I warned you about that temper of yours. A week's of detention for you. As for you, Pein, you're a new student, so I'll let you off with a warning. But I do say this: one more instance of fighting like this and you will be kicked out of Spring Green Academy. Understand?"

"Yes, Ms. Kono."

"Hn."

"Yeah."

"Good. Now get the heck out of my office."

* * *

"Hey, Konan."

The blue-haired teen turned to glare at her unwanted caller, "What do you want now, Pein? School is over, so I want to go home and get ready for work." The redhead only smirked as he held out his hand, a simply wrapped package in his palm.

"Consider this an apology for earlier," he said, taking her slim hand and placing the small artifact into her palm before walking away without waiting for her reaction. Konan's brow quirked, and the temptation to throw it away was more than prominent in her mind, but she unwrapped it to reveal a piece of hard candy and the wrapper itself holding a note.

_Hopefully this, although small, will make up for the wrongdoings I caused this morning. Sorry, but I really couldn't stand by and let an angel be pushed around like a paper doll._

Konan sighed, but smiled as she unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth, "Annoying."

* * *

Pein is such a little fighter, huh? But I promise, the next chapter will be a little more comedic, with further introduction of more of the Akatsuki, as well as some troubling fun for Konan. So don't miss it!


	3. Waitress

Chapter Three: Waitress

Konan tapped her foot, waiting impatiently for her work carpool to arrive. She held her apron in her arm as she quickly tightened the hairpins that held back her bangs, then looked around the corner of her porch for the sign of her ride.

"Why is it that when it's Ino's turn, we're always late?" she mumbled, getting ready to pull out her cell phone to call the group. Just as she pushed the button to make the call, as if on cue, the silver car pulled up and the blonde driver stepped out, waving and shouting apologies.

"Sorry Konan! Blame Forehead; she couldn't find her blasted apron!" Ino said, opening the side door for the new passenger. With a glare, Sakura flipped off Ino before sliding over for her best friend to join in.

"Well, let's just get going before we're even later. And hello Tenten," Konan said, motioning to the brunette sitting up front. Tenten, quiet with her hair in two buns on top of her head, waved as Ino got back into the car and started the drive towards their joint destination.

* * *

"Come on, Hidan. It doesn't take long to grab a jacket."

"Shut the hell up! Stupid emo freak, damn..."

Itachi sighed as he juggled the car keys in his hand, Deidara, Sasori, and Pein waiting by the front door of the large condo. "You know...he really needs to calm down on his swearing, un," Deidara muttered, straightening out the collar of his black jacket.

"Go to hell, Deidara!" came the sure-fire reply, and Sasori snickered at the blonde's dumbfounded face. Pein shook his head, "I'm about ready just to walk to Ichiraku's. I'm hungry, and tired of waiting."

Hidan emerged from his room, folding down the collar of his leather jacket, "Keep your tights on, you dumbass masochist. I'm ready now. Man, you guys need to learn some freaking patience; you will never know when a hot girl will cross your path, so you gotta look your finest."

Sweatdrops and face-palms were very prominent for his roommates' actions, and he swore he heard a certain "emo freak" mutter "womanizer" under his breath.

* * *

Ichiraku's, one of Amekagure's most popular restaurants, was busy as ever that night, and the many waitresses were moving all over the floors and past the tables, serving the dozens of customers and seating the new ones that were coming in as satisfied ones left.

"Whew! I didn't think Tuesday would be this busy!" Tenten said, working with Ino on a large family order, "Usually, we don't get these kinds of crowds until the weekend."

The blonde teen just smiled, "Well, got to remember this: it's spring, and Amekagure's citylife is prime when we don't have rain. Every year we always get a few weeks of good weather for flowers and stuff to bloom."

Sakura leaned her head back, entering the conversation from another table, "Yeah. Besides, you should be happy with this kind of weather, Tenten. Less time with that ugly duck umbrella that you seem to be stuck with."

"Sakura! Why you!"

"Haha!"

Konan just shook her head with a kind smile as she took the order for an older couple to the kitchen. Her eyes turned towards the doorway that led towards the checkout and front-end of the restaurant, where two of the waitresses were squealing at new customers that had walked in.

"Man, look at the one with the ponytail! So dreamy!"

"I love the redhead next to him! Seriously, he's too hot!"

"They are all hot! I think I'm going to faint!"

The blue-haired teen sighed, "Don't you girls have something better to do than drool over customers?" The two waitresses glared at their superior as she walked past them and towards the front-end. A smile on her face, she made a quick bout of eye contact before looking down at the sticky menus in disgust.

"Hello, welcome to Ichiraku's! Will you be in--"

"Konan?"

Her hand froze on the menus as she looked up, smiling sheepishly, "Hello Pein. Funny meeting you here."

Pein only smiled, "Same here. Anyway, non-smoking please, and five in my party, please. Don't worry, we won't make demands of you."

She really didn't cheer up at that; her mind was saying several words that she outright would never say.

* * *

After Konan had walked away with the group's drink order, Hidan let out a wolf whistle with eyes darted towards Pein, "So that's the Konan chick you were talking about? Damn, she's freaking hot! Good choice!"

"Shut up, Hidan, or else when we get back home you're going to regret every word you said."

"All right, all right. Geez!"

"I got to admit," Sasori piped in, "She is rather cute, Pein. I'm not surprised that you're smitten with her." Gray eyes narrowed and a venomous voice spoke, "She's not my girlfriend, nor am I smitten with her. She is my friend; nothing more."

Deidara snickered, "Doesn't seem like it, hmm." Itachi was silent throughout the entire exchange as Pein continued to keep up his defense – with a few under-the-table hits to Deidara as he kept up his laughter.

* * *

When Konan returned balancing her tray of drinks, she noticed the blonde of the party holding his leg as if in pain, the redhead and bleach-white-haired men laughing hysterically as Pein was smirking triumphantly, all the while the raven-haired man was silently holding his face in his head as if in shame.

"Okay...anyway, if I'm not interrupting anything important, I brought your drinks. If you have decided what to order, may I take that?" she asked as she sat down the tray and passed out the glasses, pulling out her notepad for the order.

"In a moment, Konan," Pein said, turning his attention to the blue-haired waitress with a smile, "Take a moment to rest and let me introduce you to my roommates."

"Well, I really shouldn't...but all right, just a moment, but then I have to take your orders!"

"Haha, fine. Well, first off, the one staring at you, which he needs to STOP, is Hidan."

Hidan, the bleach-white-haired man, let out another wolf-whistle and Konan visibly cringed. "Such a cutie pie! Too bad you're underaged; I'd love to have you as my girlfriend!" he exclaimed, his lips forming a large, flirty smile.

"Knock it off, hmm," said the blonde, "Hey there, Konan. My name is Deidara. Pleased to meet you, hmm." He held out his hand towards her, and the teen smiled and took it kindly, glad to take a business-like approach to the greetings.

The redhead smirked, slapping Deidara's hand away before taking Konan's hand in his, rubbing his fingers over her palm soothingly, "My name is Sasori. You are very cute...you'd make a great puppet model..."

"You're creepy!" Konan exclaimed, pulling her hand away as Deidara shook his head. "Yeah, that was really scary, hmm."

"I was meaning that I'd like her to model for my puppets."

"Didn't sound like it."

"Shut up, Deidara."

"Both of you be quiet," the raven-haired man said, "I apologize for their behavior. My name is Itachi, and I assure you Pein and I are better behaved than these three children."

"Children!?" the three offended men exclaimed, each starting to rant towards Itachi. Pein sighed and Konan laughed, almost dropping her notepad. "All right, all right. Well, then, now that I know everyone here, may I take your orders?" she asked.

* * *

The rest of the evening was calm and uneventful. The group received their meals, Konan received a well-rounded tip (and a confusing note that stated "VROOM 10PM" in Pein's scribble), and soon enough Ichiraku's began to empty. At 10:00pm, the time when Konan and Sakura were done with work, the pair were sitting outside bored while waiting for Tenten and Ino to finish their shifts in another hour.

"I wish our hours would coincide with theirs so that way we could go home at the same time," Sakura said, taking off her apron and tossing it over her shoulder. Konan ran a hand through her hand, pulling out her hairclips and placing them in her pocket, "It would be nice, but not likely. We just take things as is."

"Miss Philosopher again."

"Oh, hush."

"I assume you two are waiting for a ride?"

The pair jumped at the sudden voice intruding into their conversation, and Sakura stepped in front of her best friend at the approach of a black-haired man. "Who the hell are you?" the rosette growled, a fist tightening in defense. Konan's eyes narrowed, then widened as she grabbed Sakura's shoulder calmly, "Wait...you're Itachi, right? One of Pein's roomates...why are you here again? Did your group leave something here?"

Itachi chuckled, lifting up his car keys, "Vroom, 10pm. Pein left you that message, didn't he? It was part of your tip: a ride home for you and your defensive friend there." The teens stared in shock, Sakura asking their linking thought, "How did you guys know we got off at ten?"

"He overheard one of your friends talking how you two would have to be waiting an hour. So instead, he sent me out here to bring you both home safely and within a decent hour. Of course, if I heard it myself, I'd probably done it anyway; I was very satisfied with my service."

Konan smiled, "We can trust him, Sakura. Come on, let's tell Ino and Tenten that we're going home."

* * *

It was a little after 10:30 by the time Konan directed Itachi to her home, Sakura already dropped off after a few quick turns around the block. The ride was quiet, save a few words of chatter between the pair outside of directions, but overall it was peaceful.

As the car stopped in front of the small house, Konan smiled and turned to Itachi, bowing her head, "Thank you for the ride, and thank Pein for me as well. If it weren't for you two, Sakura and I would still be waiting."

"No problem. I have to admit, you're better company than my roommates."

"Haha, I'll take that as a compliment."

Konan grabbed her apron from her lap and opened the door, climbing out of the car and closing the door lightly. She gave Itachi a light wave before starting to turn towards the house, digging into her pocket for her key.

"I did have a question, however."

She stopped for a moment, turning around to turn towards the car, "Yes?"

"Pein told me that you are a hard-working student, practically working to the bone on your studies as well as being president of your Origami Club. Although you also a waitress working late hours at a busy restaurant. You must have a goal for your life, yes?"

Konan smiled sweetly, pulling out her key from her pocket, the end dangling a keychain with the name of Konoha College of the Fine Arts printed in cursive and gold, "Yes. I want to be a teacher of the arts. It may take me a long time to realize that dream, but I'm getting there with each step I take."

Itachi chuckled, "I see. I wish you all the luck then, Konan. Good night."

"Good night, Itachi."

* * *

That's it for chapter three! Chapter four will be up soon!


	4. Date

Author's Note: Now, some of you may be a little confused on how the school system in this story works. Well, instead of a usual school system that starts in the fall and ends in the spring, in Amekagure where it rains a lot during the summer and fall months, the school year begins in the spring and ends before the winter months. Yeah...strange concept, but hey, most people wouldn't have sports games in the rain, right?

Chapter Four: Date

It's been a month since the school year began and Spring Green Academy was abuzz with preparation for its Homecoming game and dance. Although they were late compared the coming rainy season for Amekagure, it was still in plenty of time to enjoy the spring weather, get in a game of football, spend the night dancing away, and burn away troubles at midnight with a late-night bonfire.

In the week before the big event, Konan and the growing Origami Club had been hard at work setting up the decorations for the dance, the theme being Oriental Springtime, and all the members had worked endlessly on creating paper cranes, flowers, and other patterns of different difficulties and splendor that fit the theme for the nightly dance.

However, for the ever-busy president of the club, problems seemed to arise one after another, and some out of her ability to take care of by herself.

"Hey Konan," Sakura asked, "With all of this busy preparation with preparing the gym and cafeteria for the dance...are you even prepared to go? Do you have a dress, yet alone a date?"

The blue-haired girl blanched, "...No. I never...even gave it a thought. I've been so busy with buying and making decorations, it just...slipped my mind."

Sakura face-palmed, almost dropping her paper bouquet, "I figured as much. Do you even have a clue as to what dress you want or to whom your date will be?"

"...No..."

"This is going to be a long week..."

* * *

When Pein came to school that morning, he came with a single carnation and a simple question. He felt embarrassed and stupid, carrying a flower to school, but for the sake of what he wants to do, he was more than willing to step out of character for a moment to take care of his task.

That task: asking Konan Nagato to be his Homecoming date.

He walked down the hallways towards the senior lockers, towards Konan's locker where he was sure she would be standing there trying to get it to open for the umpteen time.

Which she was, trying to open it up with a hard kick. "Ugh, stupid locker. That's it! I'm moving into Sakura's after Homecoming!" she yelled, kicking it again, which made it open much to her surprise and happiness. Pein chuckled and smirked, "Good job, Konan. But I don't think kicking your locker too much is a great idea, since you'll have to pay for the damages later."

"Oh, good morning Pein. How are you?"

"Just fine. I see that you were busy as ever preparing the cafeteria for the dance."

"Yep. I've been here since 7am, trying to put everything up in its proper place and to make sure it won't get taken down by students being rowdy."

"Smart woman," he said, "Actually, Konan, I wanted to ask you a question." A thin, blue brow quirked as Pein held out the red carnation to her.

"Will you be my Homecoming date?"

Konan was taken aback for a few seconds by the request; she didn't think that Pein, the one who was so set on denying any interest in her on the night he had gone to Ichiraku's with his roommates, would be the one to ask her to be her date to Homecoming. However, in her mind, she was just as uninterested in him as he showed in her that night.

"I'm sorry Pein," she said softly, "No thank you."

His smile faltered, but still remained, "Oh, I see." He took Konan's hand and placed the carnation into her hand, "Keep the carnation, okay? See you later."

"Pein--"

He turned away without another word. Konan watched him as he waved her off, her fingers gripping onto the flower tightly. "Pein...are you sad...?" she whispered.

* * *

Konan couldn't concentrate throughout the rest of the day. She kept staring at the carnation, wilting throughout the day, and thinking about how she rejected Pein's offer. She had never seen him seem so dejected, when he was usually so cocky and always smiling at her.

Instead, when she walked past him later, he said nothing else further to her.

That afternoon, while Konan and Sakura were decorating the cafeteria, the teen stopped working without any notice.

"Hmm? Konan, what's wrong?"

"Do you think...you know where Pein lives?"

"Eh? How would I know? You're closer to him than I am. And besides, why would I know where he lives, and why do you want to know?"

"I need to talk to him."

Sakura sighed, "Okay, okay. Well, how about we do some snooping in the phone book, looking for the name, number, and address of any of Pein's roommates are in there?"

* * *

Sakura was indeed right; Pein's roommate Sasori was in the phone book, and Konan found herself soon in front of the large apartment building. Her arm shaking, she knocked on the door loudly then stepped back.

When the door opened, she was greeted by the surprised face of Deidara.

"Konan! What brings you here, hmm?"

"Hello, Deidara. Is Pein here? I need to talk to him."

"Sure, hmm. He's down in the weight room. I'll bring you down there, hmm."

Deidara closed the door behind him and began to lead Konan towards the elevator. "Hey Deidara?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it a man thing, or do you like adding hmm to the end of your sentences?"

* * *

Pein was practicing fighting with Sasori in the weight room when Deidara and Konan arrived. "Hey, Pein! Konan's here, hmm! Stop fighting for a minute and talk to her, okay?" the blonde yelled.

The pair stopped their practice as they looked towards their guest. "Konan? What are you doing here?" Pein asked, "How did you even get here?"

"I looked up your number in the phone book. Listen, Pein...can I talk to you alone?"

The redhead wiped his brow of sweat, "...All right."

* * *

Konan treaded softly over the carpet towards the bed once Pein led her up to his room, closing the door behind him. "Have a seat. I promise the bed won't bite," he said with a chuckle, motioning towards the dark-sheeted mattress. She sat down carefully, almost not wanting to disturb the made bed, watching Pein as he sat down on the soft-seated chair by the desk nearby.

"So...why did you come here?"

"I wanted to...see if you were all right."

Gray eyes watched the reflection of light off her glasses as she lowered her head for a moment, then lifted to stare at him, "You seemed so sad earlier, so I was worried. You...were never that sad before." Pein chuckled, "Well, I was never rejected before, so it was natural reaction."

Konan's lips turned downward and her eyes lost sparkle, "Pein...I'm sorry...I thought that you...weren't interested in me." He chuckled, standing up from his seat and approached her, kneeling down and raising her chin to his eye level, "Konan, if this is about the night at Ichiraku's, I said what I did to keep my roommates from hounding both of us to extreme levels."

His smirk widened as he leaned in towards her ear, "To be honest, my dear angel...I'm actually very interested...it's you that doesn't see interest in me, which is why you rejected me...and I completely accept that, Konan."

Konan's cheeks heated and turned a bright red as Pein pulled away, the smirk still evident on his lips. "Are you ill, Konan? You're burning up," he asked her smugly, placing his hand on her forehead. Shaking her head, she pulled away from his hand, "Pein, stop saying things like that. It makes me feel embarrassed."

"That's the point. Anyway, I'm sure your point has been made by now, so I shouldn't keep Sasori waiting any—"

"My point of this visit hasn't been made yet."

"Hmm?"

Konan smiled softly, the blush calming down as she dug into her pocket and grabbed out the few petals she saved of the carnation he gave her that morning, "I came here to tell you that I do want you as my Homecoming date...if you still want me to be...although if you strongly believe I have no interest in you whatsoever, friendship or otherwise, then by all means reject me."

Pein chuckled, "Yes, I still want you to be my date."

"Good. Because I don't have a flower to give you to ask you in return."

* * *

Some cute humor, and aww, Pein and Konan are going to be homecoming dates! Yay! Sorry if this chapter seemed a little rushed; I had this planned out, but I don't think this how my mind had it.

And I had a reviewer ask me where Tobi is in my story. I am going to reveal later on where Tobi, Kisame, Kakuzu, and Zetzu are in the story, so don't worry. They will have an "appearance" in the story soon enough.


	5. Mall

Chapter Five: Mall

"Darn it, Sakura, Ino! Stop dragging me all over the blasted mall!" Konan yelled, trying to resist the pair of hands pulling at her wrists. The trio was at Amekagure City Mall, searching for the perfect Homecoming dress for the late-bloomer, and getting it now before the stores closed down for the evening.

"This is your first date, so we're going to make sure you're all prepared for it!"

"Why can't I wear my dress from last Homecoming?"

"You've worn that dress for EVERY Homecoming! This year it's time for a new one!"

"Here's a good store! Let's go in here!" Sakura exclaimed, pulling the reluctant teen into the store with the window full of dresses and advertisements for different events.

* * *

"I don't see why I just can't rent a tuxedo."

Sasori smirked at Pein as he took off another suit that didn't "fit" him. Itachi sighed, placing the pieces one by one back on the hangers and readying the next one for the young teen to try on. "This is your first date, so would you rather make a move on her in a fresh suit than one that a move has already been made in?" the older redhead said.

"Sasori, stop being perverted."

"I'm not going to make a move on Konan. We are friends, and are going to Homecoming as such. We have come to that agreement already."

"Uh-huh, sure."

Pein glared at his roommate, feeling the urge to throw a hanger at his head.

* * *

"Ooo, here's a pretty one!" Ino exclaimed.

"I'm not wearing strapless! No way in hell!" Konan yelled, pushing the dress away.

"Well, how about this one?" Sakura asked.

"It barely covers the lower half! I'm not dressing like a slut!"

Sakura and Ino looked at each other, then at Konan, "You're picky."

The blue-haired teen huffed, "I'm not picky. I just have standards. I want a dress that goes to my knees, not too flashy or showy, and has sleeves. And I'm not wearing boots or high heels, so forget it!"

"So maybe..." Ino said, searching through the rack, then pulling out a light-and-dark green dress, "something like this?"

Konan gave it the once-over: sheer light-green sleeves (it was sleeves, nevertheless), the dark green dress didn't seem low-cut (not flashy or showy), and against her it was past her knees (which was past that requirement). "Hmm...looks acceptable. However, I still need to try it on to make sure it fits me," she said, her hand to her chin thoughtfully.

Sakura grinned, holding up a box with a pair of dark green flatheels, "Try these on as well." The dress and shoes in Konan's arms, the pair pushed her into the dressing room and made sure she locked the door.

* * *

"Okay, I think I found one that fits. Can we go and get something eat now?"

Pein stepped out from the dressing room in his tuxedo, and Sasori smiled, "Aww, look at Pein, he's so handsome! So dressed up for his date!"

"I swear Sasori, one more word from you, and I will--"

"Both of you, enough," Itachi said irritated, having enough of the bickering between the two, "Pein, the tuxedo does fit nicely. Now go and take it off so we can pay for it, then yes, we will go and get something to eat. And yes, I will make sure Sasori is quiet the entire time."

Pein snickered at Sasori's shrunk-back reaction; he always loved it when Itachi quietly threatened the others.

* * *

"Wow, Konan! That dress is beautiful on you!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah! It's perfect!"

The blue-haired girl looked herself over in the mirror. The dress did seem perfect: past her knees, the sheer sleeves, no cleavage or really anything showing. It was a dress of pure innocence, just how Konan wanted to be seen.

Sakura and Ino beamed, "You got to buy it! It was made for you!"

Konan blushed, smiling softly, "...I think I will get it. But can we go and eat after this? I'm hungry."

* * *

"Hey, Konan? Is that you?"

Konan turned around, her eyes and smile widening, "Oh, hey Pein! And hey Sasori, Itachi. What brings you guys to the mall?"

Sasori chuckled, tucking his hands into his pocket, "I'm sure it's the same reason as you: preparing for a certain thing called Homecoming."

"Yeah, that's why I was dragged here. By the way, guys, these are my friends Sakura and Ino. Pein, you already know Sakura, but Ino works with me at Ichiraku. Girls, this is Pein and his roommates, Sasori and Itachi," Konan introduced.

"Nice to meet you," the foursome greeted, then Sakura perked in, "Hey, Pein, Konan, how about we order for you two and you guys go and get us a table? You two already did your shopping, so it should only be fair we get the food, right?"

"Seems fair," Itachi said, while Ino and Sasori shrugged their shoulders. "Cool, thanks. Come on Konan, over here. I found a good table," Pein said, leading the teen over to a table near the middle of the food court.

* * *

"So I guess Itachi and Sasori were torturing you with searching for a tuxedo."

"Unfortunately. And Sakura and Ino were being relentless over a dress?"

"Exactly. I hate Homecoming."

"Somehow, right now, so do I."

The two stared at each other for a moment, then laughed, "Let's hope the event is a lot better than the shopping!"

* * *

Yeah, basically a filler chapter for the cute humor. Anyway, enjoy until the next chapter!


	6. Homecoming

Chapter Six: Homecoming

The week seemed to go by too fast, and the next thing Spring Green Academy knew, it was time for Homecoming. The cafeteria and gym was shut off to students on Friday afternoon, all in preparation for the dance on Saturday night.

And Friday and Saturday were the busiest days for Spring Green: the student spirit high with the team's victory over crosstown rival Eastern Ivy High School's team, and the very large and beautiful bonfire later that same evening by Amekagure Lake. Of course, the most buzz was about the dance, which close to two-thirds of the student body was attending on the crystal-clear Saturday evening.

Including Sakura, Konan, and Pein, the trio en route to the school via Itachi's help.

"Thanks again for the ride," Sakura said for the third time since the day began, "Of all the days my car had to zonk out, it had to be today."

"It's not a problem, I assure you. You don't have to keep apologizing," Itachi said calmly, giving the rosette a sideways glance before turning his attention back to the road. In the backseat, Pein was quiet as usual as Konan stared out the window, playing nervously with the small purse she bought for the evening.

"You look beautiful."

"H-huh?"

The blue-haired teen looked over at her date for the evening, surprised for the moment at the sudden statement. The shock quickly wore away and Konan regained her composer with a bit of a blush, "Oh, thank you. You look very handsome as well."

"Thank you. Although I'll probably get rid of this coat. It's too hot."

"I can imagine."

Pein smirked, lifting his hand to run over the folds in the white paper rose clipped into Konan's hair before lowering his hand to rest over hers. Her blush increased, but another word was not spoken between the two, allowing silence to make better judgement.

Nor did she move her hand from under his.

* * *

"Wow, Konan! The gym looks great! The paper lanterns and streams of origami cranes is just so awesome!" Sakura exclaimed, taking her first good look of the gym as the trio walked in.

"Yeah, but it was thanks to you for getting us all the materials, since you're the one with the car."

"You're the one with the creative ideas, Miss President."

Pein chuckled, "Either way, the gym is very beautiful. Then again, when we have a very talented artist in charge of decorating, it's not a surprise."

Konan's cheeks heated up, and at that moment she was grateful for the dimness of the room to hide the color. She turned her attention away from her date for a moment, looking around the crowded gym at the student body that had piled in for the dance.

"It looks like attendance has really picked up this year. I'm going to bet almost all of the senior class is here, at least."

"Probably," Sakura said, "Being that it's their last Homecoming. Anyway, come on. Let's go and find Ino and Shikamaru. No matter how "troublesome" that lazyass may find this dance to be, Ino was not about to go here alone."

As Sakura began to walk ahead of them, Pein leaned in to whisper into Konan's ear, "I have a question for you...why doesn't Sakura have a date, yet she pressured you so deeply for one?"

Tan eyes glanced upward at him awkwardly, "Well...to be honest...I never had a Homecoming date. It was always just us. So, for my last Homecoming, she wanted me to have a date. It's embarrassing to admit it, but it's the truth."

"Can I ask why?"

"Well...I guess I never found the right person to go with."

Not another word was said as Konan began to walk ahead of Pein, following Sakura, with him watching her back observantly.

* * *

As the dance went on, the gym seemed to fill with less awkwardness and more dancing, talking, and activity. Music blared from the loudspeakers of all genres, and everyone was in good spirits.

Including Pein, Konan, and Sakura, spending time near one of the lesser-crowded bleachers chatting, dancing, and occasionally joining up with friends.

"This has been so much fun. So much better than last year. At least there's no one running around with boxers on their head," Sakura said, and Konan groaned, remembering watching the idiotic senior from last year running around with pink boxers covering his eyes and screaming like a lunatic.

"That was so embarrassing."

"Yeah, but hilarious."

"Somehow, I wish there was pictures of that."

The girls chimed in together, "There's a video on the internet." Pein laughed, making a mental note to borrow Sasori's computer to look up this video when he gets home.

"Excuse me. I hope I'm not interrupting, but I hope that this beautiful blossom isn't too busy for a dance."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the source of the new voice: a boy with onyx eyes full attention on Sakura, long, silver hair tied back neatly and bold against his black suit, and pale hand extended towards the girl in question. His lips formed a charming smile, and the dimmed lights reflected off his glasses in a mysterious way that added some sort of appeal to the stranger.

"My, I'm honored...um..." Sakura began, blushing slightly as she stuttered at the lack of a name. The new stranger chuckled, his extended arm instead moving towards him for a bow, "Sorry, I guess I forgot introductions. My name is Kabuto Yakushi. What is yours, milady?"

"My name is Sakura Haruno. Wow, aren't we such a gentleman."

"Only in the presence of such a beautiful, sweet flower like yourself. And I would be more than honored if you would grace me with a dance, Sakura."

The rosette smiled, turning her attention to Konan and Pein, "A girl can't turn down this. Be right back, okay?"

Pein smiled, waving her off to have fun, but Konan's eyes were wary, staring at Kabuto carefully then back at Sakura as she grabbed her best friend's wrist.

"Be careful," she whispered, "I get a bad vibe from this guy."

"Relax, Konan. It's just a dance, okay? I promise afterward I'll be right back here," Sakura whispered back, moving off the bleacher with help from the silver-haired teen. Konan watched nervously as the two walked off to the dancefloor, and she let out a sigh, playing uneasily with a paper crane.

"Konan? What's wrong?"

"...I get a bad feeling from that Kabuto guy. I've never seen him around here before, never heard of him, or anything, and all of the sudden he pops up out of nowhere. And how he's acting around Sakura...it's creepy."

Pein thought about the events for a moment, then placed Konan's concerns into the place. It started to make sense...perfect sense...

"Hey, Pein. Long time, no see."

His head turned to the new voice, and he smirked, "Hello Sasuke. Yes, it has been a long time, hasn't it?"

* * *

The music began to wind down, and Kabuto and Sakura's dance began to slow with the tempo. Eyes stayed connected, and smiles were still bright in the dimmed light.

"You are a wonderful dancer, Kabuto. Thank you very much," she said, dipping into a curtsy as the song ended and a new one began. Kabuto chuckled, bowing in return, "Of course, Sakura. You were lovely as well. However, will you please also grace me in possibly joining me in a drink in the cafeteria? After a dance such as ours, I'm parched."

Sakura smiled sweetly, parting her lips to accept, but her voice stopped before it could leave her throat.

"_Be careful. I get a bad vibe from this guy."_

She was certain that Konan was being paranoid, but for the sake of keeping her calm, she would respect her premonition. "I'm sorry, Kabuto. The dance was awesome, yeah, but I did promise to spend most of the evening with my best friend. Thank you again, and see you around, okay?" she said, waving him off before walking off towards the bleachers.

She didn't notice his eyes watching her, or his lips forming a dark smirk.

* * *

When Sakura rejoined Pein and Konan at the bleachers, she noticed a new teen standing with them: a boy with raven-black hair in, much her opinion, a style that was much like a chicken's behind, and dark eyes to match. He only wore black pants and a white dress shirt, and it only seemed to add to his appealing image.

"Welcome back," Konan said with a smile, "Sakura, this is Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother. He transferred to our school the week before Homecoming. Sasuke, this is my best friend, Sakura Haruno."

Sasuke flashed her a small smile, "Hey Sakura. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well," Sakura said, blushing lightly, "Hey...want to go and get something to drink?"

He smirked, holding out his arm like a mock gentleman, "Sure." Without missing a beat, Sakura linked her arm around his, walking alongside him while chatting away with little questions and facts about herself. Pein chuckled, "Seems like setting those two up went off without a hitch. Just a quick mention about Sakura and meeting her and Sasuke was all for it."

Konan nodded, "And Sakura is definitely excited. So I think now Spring Green is going to have a new couple wandering the hallways...but I get the feeling I'm not going to stop hearing the squealing calls at 11 o'clock at night."

Pein laughed, fixing the collar of his shirt before resting his hand next to Konan's and looking out into the crowd of dancers. The music changed again, and the mood turned. He looked towards her, watching her head sway to the beat, then smirked, standing up and walking in front of his date.

"You know...I think you're the only one in this room that hasn't danced yet."

"Wh-what?"

"Konan, will you give me the honor of a dance?"

She blushed bright red, to the point that she even doubted the lights could camouflage it, and looked at her feet before looking at his outstretched hand. Lastly she looked at his face, smile sincere and eyes calm. She smiled shyly as she took his hand, "I'm not very good, but...all right."

"Don't worry; neither am I," the redhead replied as he led her off the bleachers and to the floor, pulling her close and placing a hand on her dainty waist. Another hand held hers while her other hand rested on his shoulder.

"This really isn't the ideal song for a slow dance," Konan said observingly, looking around at the dancers doing more jamming to the rock song than anything else. Pein just chuckled as he spun her around, "Yes, but to me, a dance can be made to fit a song. So let's make our own moves, shall we?"

She stared into his eyes as he brought her back in, bringing her in a little closer with a bit of a smirk. The tempo started to pick up a bit with the chorus, and soon her feet began to move with the beat, the two of them now creating their own dance.

_I'm never gonna dance again...waste the chance that I'd been given..._

Bits and pieces of the song pierced through their concentration, but focus was on each other's eyes as their moves seemed to melt to the music. Others around them seemed to stop and watch the pair move, some tried to copy, while even some couples got the idea to dance like them: to the music with the beat leading their feet.

_Tonight the music seems so loud, I wish that we could lose the crowd...We could have lived this dance forever..._

As the drums sounded off on their solo, Pein spun Konan close, their chests heaving with their heavy pants, but lips still smiling as they continued. Her arms connected around his neck as he brought her down into a dip, bringing her up again as one hand embraced his sweaty cheek.

"You lied to me. You're an excellent dancer," he said lowly, smirking. She smiled, "So are you. I'm very much surprised."

_So I'm never gonna dance again, the way I danced with you..._

With one last spin out and in, the pair came back to their original position, calming down from their very upbeat dance. Their breathing was ragged, heavy, but so much worth it for the event that had just transpire between them. Their eyes were purely on each other and their bodies moved in close without realization.

"Konan...you're amazing..."

"So are you..."

Eyes began to close and words became silent as their lips became closer with the ending of the music until finally they met. The kiss was soft, tender, arms wrapped around in the perfect locations to keep them still and together.

As a new, heavier song began to play, their lips parted and their eyes opened again, and the pair found themselves being pushed by the jamming crowd. Quickly, they moved back to the bleachers where Sakura and Sasuke were sitting with sodas, hands together.

They didn't notice how flushed their cheeks were, or how their hands were weaved together.

* * *

That night, after the dance was over and everyone had gotten home, Konan heard her cell phone beep with knowledge of a text message. As she flipped the top up, she noticed it was a late-night message from Sakura:

Hey Konan! Sasuke + Me = Love! Thks 4 Set Up!

PS: I saw you and Pein kissing!

The blue-haired teen's eyes widened; she had now realize at that point that they had kissed after their heated dance...and it was her very first kiss, at that. Two fingers pressed to her lips, and she sat down on her bed, closing her phone and dropping it onto the mattress on the bed.

"I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't even notice," she whispered, "But somehow...I feel like I don't even mind that...my first kiss was with Pein..."

* * *

Sorry it took so long to get the chapter out! But anyway, here it is!

Anyway, the song which lyrics is used lightly in this is Careless Whisper by Seether, which is an awesome cover. Totally give it a listen, okay?

The next chapter will come out soon!


	7. Danger

Chapter Seven: Danger

After the Homecoming dance, Sakura began to feel like someone was watching her every move.

At work, at school, even at home, the rosette felt that there was someone lurking in the shadows, watching her steps, as if waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It came to the point that even Konan or her new boyfriend Sasuke couldn't comfort her fears with words, but with any actions they could come up with.

"I'm seriously freaking out. Last night I couldn't sleep 'cause I swore there was someone watching me from my window. It was so freaking creepy!"

"I know, Sakura. That's why I'm going to be staying over at your house for awhile until all of this passes."

Slinging her backpack over one shoulder and a very packed duffle bag over the other, Konan tossed a pillow and her purse at Sakura, "Hold those for me so I can lock the door. Then let's go and get settled in at your place."

* * *

Three days passed, and soon Konan felt the same stalking feeling as Sakura. It was suspicious, creepy, and vile, and the pair tried to come up with any methods they could to get away from the shadows that followed them – and without entrancing others into the problem.

"Konan, are you angry with me?" Pein had asked her by her locker before she left school, "For the past few days, you've been in and out of here so fast without a word."

"No, I'm not mad at you Pein. It's just that there is something go on right now that I can't get you involved," she said, closing her locker and moving quickly passed him, praying deep down that he wouldn't follow.

Like clockwork, he did. "What do you mean you can't get me involved? Konan, what's going on?" he asked, keeping up with her pace. Holding her books closer to her chest, she bit her lip and moved faster, trying harder to get away from him.

"Konan, what is--"

"I can't tell you!" she yelled, trying her best to ignore the sting of tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Pein!"

Without mumblings of apologies to others around her, she began to run through the hall, leaving Pein to watch her with curious and sad eyes.

* * *

"We're taking the day off from work, okay? You're way too shaky to go in. We're just going to stay in, watch some movies, and pig out on food," Konan said with a smile, linking her arm tightly around Sakura's.

"I probably gained like eight pounds since this whole thing began. Sasuke will probably think I'm getting fat."

"I seriously doubt that. You're way too--"

Konan froze. Every part of her froze to the sidewalk. Sakura's brow quirked, "Konan? What's wrong?"

"On the count of three, we run," the blue-haired girl whispered, lowering her arm slowly to grip Sakura's hand, "One...two...three!" With barely time to gain her bearings, Sakura found herself being pulled along in a panic by her best friend down the walk, trying her best not to run into others around her.

"Konan! What's going on?"

"We're being followed! We got to get out of here now!"

Sakura gasped and tried to turn around to look, but Konan kept her eyes forward, "Don't look back! Just keep running!"

For a moment, the rosette didn't know which to be more fearful of: whatever it was that was chasing them, or the tone of Konan's voice, a tone she had never heard used before.

After what seemed like hours of running, the two finally stopped, leaning against the wall of a building for some support while they caught their breath. "Okay...I think for the moment...we're safe...but we have to get to your house quickly..." Konan said between pants, "Before whatever that was follows us again..."

"Yeah, but Konan, whoever it is knows where I live," Sakura stated, "This isn't the safest situation for either of us! We need to get help, like the police. Or if they can't help, at least if you can ask Pein if we can--"

"No! I don't want to involve Pein in this! If we're not involving Sasuke, then we're not involving Pein! And that includes Itachi and the others too!"

Sakura was taken aback by the sudden outlash over her suggestion; never has she seen Konan seem so passionate towards their classmate before. A quick image of watching them dance at Homecoming came to mind, and the thought of her possibly being in love with him crossed over, but she admitted it was hardly the time to draw on the idea.

"Come on, let's get out of here. We have to keep moving," Konan said, gripping Sakura's hand tightly as they leaned off the wall and made the first step forward.

One step was all it took. A shadow came out before them with a nasty grin on its face, "Going someplace, little flower?"

Within a matter of seconds, the girls were surrounded by a trio of black-clad figures, all with sights on Sakura. "Damn it..." Konan muttered, "What the hell do you guys want!? Why are you stalking Sakura!?"

The first shadow spoke, the grin still obvious, "She's perfect for our boss."

The second shadow spoke next, "Just perfect."

Finally the third shadow made its speech known, "And now...she comes with us."

The figures moved as one towards their target. Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, and Konan cursed again, lifting her bag from her shoulder and swinging it, hitting the shadow closest to her. Without letting go of Sakura's hand, she maneuvered around the rosette in the best way possible, allowing her to place blows onto the other shadows as well and creating an opening for them to escape.

"Sakura, run!"

"R-right!"

Running as fast as they could, they tried their best to place as much distance between themselves and the shadowy stalkers, but quickly found there was no way to outrun a shadow.

"Clever move, girl," said the second shadow, grabbing Konan by the arm and lifting her off the ground, "But too bad the boss isn't interested in you." Pulling her away from Sakura, the shadow tossed Konan against a brick wall, allowing her to fall into a heap of pain and lost breath. The third shadow gave her a few kicks into the nearby alley, muttering a few words about payback, before grabbing the escaping Sakura in its arms.

"Konan! Let me go! No, Konan! Konan!!"

The last thing that Konan saw was Sakura being knocked out and taken away, and hearing the first shadow chuckled, "Orochimaru will be pleased indeed..."

* * *

Deidara sighed, brushing a hand through his hair, "That is the last time I go shopping for Hidan's hairgel, hmm. Next time he can go to the girly store and get it."

As the blonde continued to walk down the street, his eyes landed upon a hand sticking out from the alley ahead of him, along with a couple of schoolbooks that seemed to have fallen out of a backpack. He moved closer, the curiosity in him growing as his heart pounded, and his eyes began to take in other things as well.

A charm bracelet. A white sleeve. The slight appearance of blue hair.

It clicked at that moment at the sight of the hair, and Deidara began to run, "Konan!"

In a mess of unconscious, bruises, and a little blood was Konan, and the blonde had really no true reaction to how he could feel to seeing the young teen in this state. Carefully as possible, he lifted her, calling her name to try and wake her, but found no use.

Grabbing her dropped books and placing them in his bag, he began to run towards the direction of his apartment, where he knew she would be taken care of – and be able to tell someone she trusted what happened to her.

* * *

"Hey, we got a letter from Kisame!" Sasori yelled, "He says that the expedition at the Tokidoki Waterfall went well, and that he'll be sending us some handcrafted souvenirs from the village he was staying at soon."

"That's cool. At least he's having better luck than Zetsu and Tobi is having with their expedition in Sunakagure Ruins," Itachi stated, taking a sip of his soda.

"Hey, at least Kakuzu is raking in the dough," Hidan said, "Best medic man in the east! Hell yeah for my roomie!"

Pein smiled as the group shared their thoughts on their departed members, all of them doing worthwhile things while the others had stayed behind to complete their dreams in Amekagure. It was a little empty in their large, upper-level apartment, but still, it was always nice to get letters to at least tell them that they were still alive and kicking no matter where they were.

Suddenly, the peace was disrupted by the slamming of the door against the wall and Deidara's frantic entrance, "Look out, hmm! Konan's been injured!"

"Konan!?" Pein yelled, his eyes widening at the sight of the blue-haired girl that his roommate had now laid out on the couch, "Konan! Damn it, what happened Deidara!?"

"I don't know! I found her like this in an alleyway, hmm!"

"Hidan, get your medicine kit! Put some of the skills Kakuzu taught you to use!"

"Already freaking on it! Damn, calm down kid!"

Shakily, Pein grabbed Konan's scraped hand, his entire mind racing as Hidan knelt down beside the couch, taking a damp cloth to the dry blood on her shoulder.

* * *

By that afternoon, Konan was still unconscious, but she was at least cleaned and bandaged and looking much better than she was when Deidara first brought her in. Sasori and Hidan were out and about, looking for answers as to why the teen was in this condition while Itachi and Deidara took care of the household chores.

Pein, on the other hand, stayed by her side, holding her hand tightly as ever, waiting for her to finally wake up and tell him what happened. Gently, tenderly, he ran his fingers over her cheek, pushing back strands of hair that fell into her face.

"Konan," he whispered, "What happened to you? Why would anyone attack an angel like you?"

Just as he removed his fingers from her face, she let out a small moan, a welcoming sound to the room. Pein's eyes widened, "Deidara, Itachi! Get in here; I think Konan's waking up!"

"She's waking up, hmm!?"

"Don't crowd her, Deidara. Sit over here, idiot."

"Don't call me an idiot!"

"Both of you, stop it! Konan, Konan...wake up, please...it's Pein...please wake up..."

She moaned again before her eyes began to flutter open slowly, taking in first the white ceiling above her, then a pair of very familiar, yet extremely concerned gray eyes. She licked her dry lips, her voice cracking for a moment as she spoke, "Pein...why are you..."

"Deidara found you on the street, unconscious and beat up. He brought you here and Hidan bandaged you up. Luckily your wounds weren't too serious...thank god..." Pein said, squeezing her hand as she looked around the apartment, as if she was looking for something.

Suddenly, in a panic, Konan sat up, eyes wide and screaming, "Sakura! Sakura!"

"Sakura? Sakura wasn't with you, hmm," Deidara said as Pein tried to calm down the hysterical girl. "No, you don't understand! Sakura's gone! I got to find her! Sakura!" Konan continued to yell, struggling to get out of the redhead's grip.

"Konan, calm down! What do you mean Sakura's gone? What happened to her?"

"I can't tell you! I have to go and find Sakura!"

"Tell me, Konan!"

"I can't!"

With more force than he really meant to, Pein pushed the blue-haired girl to the couch, pinning her beneath him. She struggled and screamed, but he refused to let her go.

"Let me go, Pein!"

"What happened to Sakura? Tell me!"

"I can't!"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt!"

The room went silent for a second. "I don't want you to get involved! Those people, those shadows, they've been stalking Sakura and myself since the Homecoming dance! And now they attacked us and kidnapped her! I have to save her! I have to! And I don't want any of you guys gettting hurt!" she yelled, "This is a problem between us and whoever this Orochimaru guy is!"

"Orochimaru!?" Itachi and Deidara yelled in unison, and Pein growled at the sound of the name. Konan's brow raised, "What is it? Who is this Orochimaru?"

Pein's brow furrowed as he released Konan from the couch, "You may not have wanted us involved, but now we are...we have been waiting for a chance to go against that man again."

"It's not just for Sakura that we're going to go after him, hmm," Deidara said.

"It's going to be for revenge," Itachi added, tightening the tie in his hair.

Konan stared at Pein, watching him shake with only what she could guess was anger. "Pein...what revenge is this?" she asked softly. He didn't even look at her; he only stared at the floor as his hands balled into fists.

"Revenge for killing my mother, the woman that brought all of us together."

* * *

Dun dun dun! The plot thickens! So now what is going to happen to Sakura now that she is in the clutches of Orochimaru? And what about Pein and the others? Will they gain their revenge? See in the next, exciting chapter!


	8. Ayumi

Author's Note: Aha, plot twist in the last chapter, huh? I know, I'm so evil. But at least I did a couple things I promised: the cameo appearance of Tobi and the others and solving the "bad vibe" feeling that came from Chapter Six. Anyway, now onto the next chapter, which I will apologize for being more of a "filler" chapter, but it does explain a lot of things, I swear!

Chapter Eight: Ayumi

"So we're done?"

"Yeah. Kabuto gave the girl a drug to keep her asleep until the boss arrives tomorrow. Our part's done."

"Good. Damn, that blue-haired bitch gave me a freaking bruise!"

Zaku grinned as he looked over at Kin, watching as she lifted her shirt off to investigate. "Freaking hell...it'll take forever to heal, especially on my stomach! I'm going to kill that bitch next time I see her," she muttered, "I won't be able to wear middrifts for weeks!"

"You can stay in my bed for weeks then. Trust me, you're more than welcome."

"Ugh, pervert."

Dosu sighed, "I hate hormones."

* * *

"All right, given Orochimaru's usual pattern, he won't be here until tomorrow, so we'll have time to format a plan and rest up," Itachi said, looking over at Konan, "Much better than going in blindly, and especially if we're going to try and stop Orochimaru once and for all."

"Yeah, and since if we go in now, he'll just go after Sakura again, hmm," Deidara said, "So we'll wait for early dawn before we set out."

"Don't worry about Sakura," Sasori said, placing a hand on Konan's shoulder reassuringly, "She'll be all right for the night; we've dealt with Orochimaru before, so we know how he operates inside and out."

Konan nodded, trusting all of them, but deep inside she still worried. After all, Sakura was her best friend, and knowing that she is deep within a dangerous, possibly even deadly predicament, was too hard to try and even imagine.

"Come on, Konan. Let's go and find you an outfit to wear for the night so you don't have to sleep in your school clothes," Pein said, trying to find anything to keep her mind occupied on other thoughts. She nodded again, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her to his bedroom, not making a sound.

Once inside, he closed the door, allowing him to gain better access to his closet. "My stuff will probably be a little big on you, so hopefully you won't mind that too much," he said.

"I don't mind..."

Pein sighed, his shuffling stopped as he turned and stared at the girl sitting on his bed, "Konan...I know this is hard on you. But I promise you, we all promise you, that we will save Sakura. We will."

"And what if we can't!? What if tomorrow we get there and Sakura's already hurt or raped or dead!? I should've been able to save her today! But no! Instead I...I..."

Bending in her knees and folding in her arms, Konan cried for the first time that day, letting out everything she felt over the event. Her guilt, her anger, her uselessness, everything fell out from her tears.

Quietly, Pein approached and sat down beside her, wrapping her tightly in his arms. "Konan...you did what you could do. And you are still helping her by telling us, because we CAN save her. We promise. I promise, Konan, I promise," he whispered to her, running his fingers through her hair soothingly.

"I hope so...I really do..."

* * *

Kabuto looked up from his laptop over at the sleeping teen taking up space on his bed. Normally, Orochimaru's wombs-to-be would just be placed into the Ladies' Room to prepare them for what would happen in the future, but for the sake of being former schoolmates, he found it to be...obligatory, was the word he found, to let her stay in his room comfortably for the night.

After all, the next day, she was going to become the next one to hold the crime lord's heir to fruitation.

Quietly, he chuckled, "I wonder if the child will have pink hair as well. It would be...amusing to see the leader's reaction to that idea."

He turned back around to his laptop, "I do admit, Sakura may just rival Ayumi in capturing Orochimaru's complete attention."

* * *

"All right. Well, I managed to convince Sakura's mom that we're staying at Ino's house for the night and that Sakura's phone is just in a bad reception zone. I hate lying to her, but it's the best I can do," Konan said, shutting off her phone and placing it in her bag. She took out the paper rose in her hair, glad that it wasn't damaged in the struggle earlier, and let down the small bun that the rose held up.

"Well, you really can't tell her the truth," Pein said, "Unless you want her to freak out."

"Of course not. Still, I hate lying to her; she's like a second mother to me."

Konan sighed, fluffing up the pillow that she borrowed before laying down on the makeshift bed she made on Pein's bedroom floor, "I don't know how I'll be able to sleep. Besides everything else that has happened today and may happen tomorrow, it's barely nine."

Pein chuckled, turning on his mattress and staring at his for-the-night-roommate, "I guess you're more of a late-night person, huh?" Konan nodded, then sat up and folded her arms up on his bed, resting her head on them.

"Pein...what was your mother like? You never mentioned anything about your family until today; I actually thought that Sasori was your brother or uncle or something, but now I know better. So...can you tell me a little bit about your mom?"

Silence enveloped the room, save the sound of the redhead flipping around in his bed to stare up at the ceiling. Suddenly she felt guilty for asking such a painful question, but he didn't allow her to take it back.

"My mother...she was the sweetest, most beautiful woman I ever knew. Next to you, of course."

She felt grateful for the darkness of the bedroom at that moment, hiding her darkened cheeks from his view. Still staring at the ceiling, he continued, "I was five years old. My mother was the owner of this complex, and a damn good one at that. She ran it with all the will of a steam engine, but with all the sweetness of a kitten. If a tenant had a problem, she listened to it, and if she could do it on her own that moment, she fixed it. That's what I admired about her, I really did."

She watched his lips curved into a smile, the whites of his teeth visible in the dark of the room, "Then one day, a large group of guys came into her office, asking for a large place to say. Needless to say, my mother didn't approve of their loud behavior and ask them to leave her complex. However, the guys were persistent, insisting that they were good and would prove to be not only good for her building but good workers for her as well. She didn't buy it for a minute, and continued to pressure them away from the building, and from myself as well, insisting that if they stayed around me, they would become a bad influence."

"Who were these guys?" Konan asked curiously.

"I was getting to that soon enough," Pein said with a chuckle, "However, one day while my mother was out shopping, I decided to go out and play at the park just outside of the building. I knew she wouldn't mind. But I didn't count on some bullies at the time being there, nor on them deciding to pick on me. I tried to get away from them, but being only five years old and the other kids being, oh, probably eight or nine at the time, it was very hard to do that. But the next thing I knew, I was being pulled into the arms of a very tall man while the others were being held up by their necks by other men that joined him. When I looked up, I saw that it was the same guys that my mother had tried to keep out of the apartment complex, and I realized at that time they had saved me."

He looked over at Konan at that moment, a smile on his face, "When my mother came home and I told her the story, she couldn't reject them anymore. She turned the upstairs floor into a loft for them, and I eventually started to make the place a hangout for myself, but then again the guys didn't mind. They saw me like a little brother and saw my mother like their mother as well. We were like a big family: Kakuzu, Tobi, Zetsu, Kisame, Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, Itachi, my mother, and then myself.

Konan's eyes widened, "All of you? All of you got together through your mother?"

"Pretty much, and stayed that way too, because once my mother created the loft, she never really allowed us all to leave. She was depressed when Kakuzu left for his medical training in Konoha, and even tried to keep him in Amekagure. But really, she knew she couldn't, and eventually got over it, since she did realize being the best doctor he can be was his dream."

She smiled, giggled even despite herself, then her smile faded and her eyes dimmed in her lack of cheer, "...How did your mother die? What happened to her with Orochimaru?"

Pein sighed, fearing the question, but knew it was coming all the same, "Orochimaru wanted a beautiful woman to bear him a child, an heir to his secret organization of crime. My mother was the perfect target: beautiful, vulnerable, fertile. So, when I was going onto seven years old, he sent his shadowy henchmen to capture her. Myself and the others went to save her, only for Itachi and I to find her struggling during his disgusting rape of her innocent body."

He was silent for a moment as he collected his words, "...We had to watch as he took a knife and stab her. We couldn't save her in time; too many obstacles stood in our way. By the time we could get to her...all we could do was lift her bloody, cold body up off the floor. I didn't cry at that time, but Deidara told me when we arrived back at the apartment that night, I let out such a wail that at first they thought they would have to take me to the hospital."

"I learned a few days later that my mother transferred guardianship of me to the care of the guys until I was eighteen in case she was accidentally killed, since being the owner of an apartment complex can have some dangerous strings attached to it. Her best friend at the time took control of the complex, and still lives up her legacy, although now the building has a plaque dedicated to my mother outside of the building with a time capsule of her artifacts buried inside the wall," he said, sighing afterward, "Ayumi Yahiko...she never bothered to change her last name after my father passed away, but then again, she loved the name so much, she wanted to keep it forever. Which is why the complex is called Yahiko."

Konan said nothing, just chose to stare at Pein as he continued to look up at the ceiling, his arms folded behind his head. She looked at the mattress for a moment, then at him, and finally shifted her body enough to where she could crawl up into the bed beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist comfortingly.

His brow quirked curiously as he looked down at her, noticing her closed eyes and her head buried into the side of his chest. "Konan?" he questioned softly, hoping not to disturb her or to make her angry in anyway, but still wanted an answer to her sudden action.

"I'm sorry, Pein...I'm sorry I had to make you relive the pain of that day. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize, Konan. It's all right. Shh...it's all right."

"But...if it's any consolation...your mom sounds so much cooler than Sakura's."

Pain laughed as he wrapped an arm around Konan's shoulders, making the teen smile. "I think she would enjoy hearing that," he said, pulling his blanket up over both of them before turning his head a bit to rest his chin on her head, "Sleep well, Konan."

"Sleep well, Pein...and thank you."

* * *

Aww, fluffy PeinKonan moment! Yay! And origins revealed about how the group got together and why Orochimaru went after Sakura! And in the next chapter, the gang goes after him to save Sakura! It's all coming up next time! Stay tuned!


	9. Rescue

Author's Note: This is probably going to be my longest chapter ever! But I promise, it's going to be so worth it since it's the dramatic climax of the story! Will Konan, Pein, and the others be able to save Sakura from Orochimaru? And what will this incident do to the budding relationship between our favorite pair? Read ahead to find out!

Chapter Nine: Rescue

Dawn seemed to come too quickly.

The sun barely peeked through the windows of the loft, and already Hidan, Sasori, Itachi, and Deidara were awake and about, dressing in similar outfits they had hoped they wouldn't have to wear again.

Black shirts with red clouds embellished into the fabric, along with black pants, along with black shoes to match the ensemble. An outfit created by the woman they had called their mother at one point or another, the woman that once pushed them all away but eventually welcomed them into her heart.

"Today is the last day Orochimaru will torment a woman like he did her, hmm," Deidara said, tying up his long, blonde hair into a ponytail on the crown of his head.

"We will save Sakura for Konan, as well as gain revenge for Ayumi," Sasori added, straightening the collar on his shirt.

"That asshole will finally pay for his freaking crimes," Hidan cursed, fastening a triangle-within-a-circle charm necklace around his neck, allowing the metal to rest against his bare skin.

"And finally Pein will gain some peace," Itachi said, looking towards the bedroom where the redhead still slept, Konan cuddled close against him soundfully.

* * *

Sakura groaned as she turned on the unfamiliar mattress, her eyes opening slowly to adjust to the strange addition of morning sunlight. It was odd; she remembered it being afternoon and walking home with Konan, but she didn't remember ever falling asleep anywhere, especially in a dark, brown-walled room.

Suddenly she remembered; shadow figures, and watching Konan being thrown against the brick wall of a building, rendering her unconscious. She sat up in the mattress, her green eyes wide, "Konan!"

"She's not here, Sakura. But if you're lucky, perhaps Orochimaru may reunite you with her someday."

Her head darted towards the doorway, "Kabuto! What's going on here? Where am I? What happened to Konan? And who is this Orochimaru guy that keeps being mentioned?"

Kabuto chuckled, the sunlight reflecting off his glasses, "All in due time, my beautiful blossom, all in due time."

* * *

Konan looked herself over in the mirror, placing in the white rose into her hair before tightening the belt around her black skirt, "Are you sure I'm allowed to wear this, Pein? I mean...this was your mother's outfit."

Pein watched her from the doorway, arms crossed over his chest and gray eyes intent on her reflection in the mirror. "You're part of us right now, so you'll wear the same outfit as us. Besides," he said, taking a few steps towards her and wrapping a finger into her hair, "it fits you so well, somehow it's scary."

"So what did you guys used to call your little gang of friends when you dressed like this?"

"We called ourselves Akatsuki back then. It was a funny name that I came up with when I was little after my mother showed me the outfits."

"Akatsuki...a silly name, but then again, it seems like a name perfect for you guys."

"Gee thanks."

Konan smiled, fixing the collar of her blouse. Looking herself over in the mirror one more time, her expression turned serious as she turned to face Pein, "Let's go. Let's save Sakura!"

* * *

That morning, Sakura found herself waking up in an unfamiliar bedroom, which she later found out belonged to Kabuto. She also woke up with no answers to her many questions that she had.

An hour later, she found herself in a much larger room, occupied by five other women, all of them unhappy, stressed out, and very much pregnant.

"Another one," one said upon Kabuto's departure and the door being locked behind Sakura's obvious fighting against it.

"And so young...I'm sorry, child," said another woman."

Sakura looked over at the women, her eyes cautious, "W-what do you mean?"

A third woman, laying on a bed with her hands wrapped around her large stomach, "Orochimaru had brought you here to become his next womb. It'll be only a matter of a few hours before you'll have his seed like us."

"WHAT!?"

* * *

"The last time we heard anything about Orochimaru, he had taken over an abandoned warehouse outside of Amekagure's business district, three miles north of Spring Green Academy," Sasori said, "I'm sure since his real enemy is us, he's still there. If we park the car in the parking lot there, we can make a sneak attempt on the building after that, get inside, face Orochimaru and rescue Sakura, and the mission will be complete."

"A vague plan, but it'll work, hmm," Deidara said, "It worked when we tried to save Mother Ayumi."

"And it will work this time," Pein said, holding Konan on his lap tightly, keeping her safe against him as a substitute for a lack of a seat and seatbelt, "But this time, we're going to make sure there are no flaws. We're not going to have Sakura become another of that snake's victims."

* * *

Sakura sat by the bedside of the woman she soon learned was named Anya, the one who told her the truth behind the rosette's reason for being in this room. She watched the woman seethe and grip at the sheets, moaning as if she was in pain and releasing a breath whenever the waves of pain seemed to pass.

"Miss Anya...?"

"Ah...don't fret child...Orochimaru is sure...to take it easy on you...being a minor now..."

"No, that's not what I'm meaning. I'm meaning...are you having contractions?"

The brunette smiled before she took in a breath as another wave of pain ran through her body, "Oh...yes my child...it's that time..."

The other women came around the two, fretting about Anya's labor and how they should take care of her. One started to coach her on her breathing, another ran around looking for items they could use for the delivery, while others just tried to casually talk to her to keep her mind off the pain.

"Ladies, can we just calm down for a minute? I may only be in high school, but I've went through classes on this stuff," Sakura said, trying to restore some order to the group, "Okay, one of you go and get that basin of water over there. Make sure it's warm so we can wash the baby after it's born. You, keep on coaching her through the pain, but don't act like she's going to push yet, okay? As for you two, get me a blanket to wrap the baby in, some towels, and also, try to find me some alcohol and a pair of scissors. If I have to cut the cord myself, I'm going to do it with a pair of sterile scissors, darn it all."

The women did as told and scurried to do their tasks. Anya smiled, "You are one smart child...you are every bit as clever as Ayumi..."

* * *

Hidan cracked his knuckle, "Heh...it's been awhile since I've been in a good, damn fight! Can't wait for this!"

Itachi sighed, dragging the white-haired man along by his ear, "Less cracking, more running. Time is of the essence, if you have ever heard the saying."

"Ow ow OW! Shit, man, stop pulling on my ear, I get it!"

"Stop it, both of you, hmm!"

Pein sighed, "Why can't they be silent partners like us?"

Konan didn't smile, but continued to stare on ahead as she ran close to him, "Because at the moment, they aren't solely focused on saving their best friend from possibly a fate just as horrible as death. I don't know about the other women that this Orochimaru guy had taken before, but Sakura is an innocent, and she takes pride in saving her innocence for her marriage. I know she will not want to lose it to a crime lord looking for an heir."

Pein nodded, and silence presumed, save the occasionally yelling and curse from the reluctant partnership ahead of them.

* * *

The door to the room opened and Sakura turned to see Kabuto enter, his feet steadfast on approaching her. "It's time, Sakura. Come with me," he said, pulling at her arm and dragging her to her feet.

"What the hell? No! I'm not going anywhere! First off, I'm not going to become anyone's freaking womb! Second off, this woman is in labor! And unless you know how to deliver a baby, I need to be here to do it!" she yelled, pulling her arm from his grasp, "So you best let me go, Four-Eyes!"

The other women watched as Sakura struggled with Kabuto, yelling and screaming at him as he pulled at her arm and started to drag her out of the room. "Damn it, let me go! Anya's in LABOR! What about that don't you freaking get!?" she yelled at him again, aiming a punch at his face in anger.

Swiftly the silver-haired teen caught her fist in his hand, wrapping his fingers around her hand, and smirked as he lowered his head until his nose met hers. "Don't worry about her, little flower. I will return to take care of the birth in a few moments. But, at this moment, we can't keep Orochimaru waiting much longer," he said, a finger tracing over her pouting lips.

Angrily she moved to bite his finger, but his motions were too quick before she could lay injury on him. Still struggling, Kabuto pulled her out of the room, locking the door behind them, leaving the women inside to deal with the absence of the rosette – and the onset of a labor they had no idea how to truly handle.

* * *

"This is it. I remember it clearly," Pein said softly, "It's the same as it was when we went to save Mother."

"Yes, but this time, we know that Orochimaru has probably set up more traps and more guards for us," Itachi added, "However, we should still have an idea of where Orochimaru should be inside of here and placement of any false rooms inside of his compound."

"Just stay close to us," Sasori motioned to Konan, "We'll get you through here, and we'll get you out – with Sakura in tow."

Konan nodded, her faith in the men around her unnerving as she stared at the warehouse before her. She had seen this place so many times before, on drive-bys to the grocery store or to the mall, but never in her life did she thought it held a dangerous criminal behind its walls.

Suddenly she broke out of her reverie by the sound of footsteps behind her and she quickly turned to see three shadows quickly approach her. "Those figures!" she yelled, taking a defensive position as Sasori and Pein stood in front of her.

"Heh...thought we'd see you again," said the first figure.

"Very persistent, I admit that," the second figure added.

"Stupid bitch, you gave me a bruise," the third figure said angrily, "You're going to pay for that."

Deidara chuckled, "So it's Dosu, Zaku, and Kin, the shadow henchmen, hmm? Why did I figure you'd be guarding out front?"

The first figure, Zaku, grinned beneath his shadow cover, "Of course. And you blasted Akatsuki are now defending this little girl? Hmm, how amusing."

Dosu chuckled, "A change in plans for the boss."

Kin just scoffed, "I don't care. She's going down for what she did to my skin!" Without warning her partners, her shadowy form moved towards Konan, past Pein and Sasori and lunged at her.

However, before either guy could move, the blue-haired girl reacted, dodging the figure's attack and launched an attack of her own: a well-placed kick to Kin's side and knocking her to the ground. Flipping on her hands, Konan lifted herself back to her feet, huffing out a breath in relief of her move.

"Damn! Where the hell did you learn to move like that?" Hidan asked impressed, his lips curved a mile wide.

"This is not the time or place to be asking me about my moves!" she yelled at him.

"I have to admit, I am curious as well," Pein asked, "but for the moment, we'll leave it alone. Hidan, Itachi, we'll leave these guys to you. The rest of us will go on ahead."

"Got it."

"Right on!"

As Kin started to get up and rejoin her partners, Hidan cracked his fists and Itachi stretched out his arms. "This is going to be one hell of a fight!" the white-haired man exclaimed excitedly.

Itachi sighed, "Just don't kill them, okay?"

* * *

The rosette found herself roughly tossed onto a chair, and had no time to get up and escape before Kabuto closed and locked the door on her. "Damn it! Let me out of here, you jackass!" she yelled, "Man, what happened to the freaking gentleman from Homecoming, huh Kabuto!?"

Sakura sighed, giving up her yelling as she looked around the room she was now locked up in. It was similar to Kabuto's room, she admitted, but with a larger window drawn over with thick curtains and a large bed beneath it.

She shuddered, feeling suddenly cold. This had to be Orochimaru's room; she knew it. And deep down in her bones, Sakura knew she had to find a way to escape from here – and fast.

* * *

"If I remember from before, Orochimaru's room is off this way," Pein said as the foursome turned down the hallway, "Konan, stay beside me. Sasori, Deidara, stay behind us and be prepared for any surprise traps or attacks."

"Don't have to tell me twice, hmm."

"Just do as you're told, blondie."

"Lead the way, Pein. The quicker we get to Sakura, the better."

The redhead teen nodded, then stopped suddenly, "Guys, we have company!"

A chuckle filled the air as the group found themselves stopped by a new threat. "My my, just as Sakura had ask for you, you arrive. What a loyal friend you are," said the voice belonging to the chuckle, coming forth before Pein and Konan.

The voice was instantly recognized and the blue-haired teen growled, "Kabuto. I knew that you were nothing but trouble. Where the heck is Sakura!?"

The silver-haired teen smirked, pushing his glasses up on his nose, "Don't worry about Sakura right now; she's in very capable hands with Orochimaru."

"Liar," Pein said, "Orochimaru is nothing but a rapist, a murderer. And you're doing nothing but helping and harboring him."

Kabuto looked over at him, then smirked, "Oh, is this over your mother, Pein? Ah, Ayumi was quite a catch, based on the pictures I've seen of her. What a beautiful heir they would've created."

Pein's fists balled up and he launched at him angrily, "You bastard! How dare you desecrate her name like that!" Konan moved, quickly pulling at his arm, "Pein, stop! Save your anger for Orochimaru!"

Deidara grinned, "She's right, hmm. Let me handle this guy. You three go on ahead and save Sakura."

Konan nodded, then motioned towards Sasori for help as they dragged Pein along with them past the face-off. Kabuto watched them for a moment, then smirked as Deidara began to unfasten a couple of buttons on his shirt.

"Okay, little pawn, let's go, hmm."

* * *

Sakura pulled harder at the latch on the window, trying to get it to budge with all her might. It was with sad luck that the latch was rusted over from years of no use.

"Damn it...open!" she yelled, giving it one last hard pull with fruitless results and found herself falling against the bed.

"Nice attempt, blossom. I hope you are that bold when we sleep," came a voice out of nowhere and the rosette looked around the room, finding the source leaned against the doorway. Her emerald eyes widened at the sight of the pale-skinned, black-haired man that stared at her, his lips curled into a smirk and his odd, golden eyes leering at her.

In an instant, she figured out that this had to be Orochimaru. She scrambled off of the bed, moving towards the back wall in hopes to place some sort of distance between them. He chuckled at her idea of escape. "You're very spunky, little Sakura. But don't worry; I plan to take it easy on you...at least until you are eighteen."

She began to cringe, tears forming in her eyes as the snake-like crime lord began to approach her, her thoughts racing a mile a second. She thought about herself, about Anya and her baby, about her mother, about Konan...about everything.

* * *

Konan swore she heard a yell for help coming from a room to their left, and she suddenly stopped, "I think I hear her...yes, that's Sakura! Over there!"

She began to run into the direction of the yelling, not caring if there was any signs of traps or enemies, leaving Sasori and Pein to follow her. "Sakura! Sakura!" she called out, finally stopping in front of a large window covered by thick curtains. She heard another yell, and her body tensed, "Sakura!"

Sasori looked around for a door inside, finding one on the side of the room, "Found a way in. Pein, on the count of three, we knock it down, got it?"

The teen nodded, and positioned himself alongside Sasori to make their entrance. "One...two...three!" Sasori called, the pair making their crash against the door. They tried it four times before finally the door burst open, allowing them entry inside.

"Sakura!" Pein yelled, noticing Orochimaru having the girl against his bed, her shirt ripped and on the floor, tears streaming down her face. Sasori pulled the crime lord off of her, punching him in the face and allowing Sakura to escape.

"Pein! Oh god..." she said shakily, the gratefulness in her voice visible. "Sakura! Oh thank goodness," Konan said, quickly looking around for a blanket to cover her torso.

"Konan! You're all right!"

"Yeah. But right now, we need to get you out of here. Sasori, get Sakura out of here."

The redhead man nodded, taking off his shirt and pulling it around her body before pulling her hand and taking her out of the room. With the two of them out of the room, Pein and Konan turned their attention to Orochimaru, recoving from the punch that Sasori had given to him.

"Heh...so let's see...Ayumi's child and Sakura's best friend, both here to gain revenge. Ah, what an adventure for me."

"You've caused enough problems," Pein growled, pushing Konan back a bit to keep her out of the fight, "Today will be the last day you will ever harm a woman like you have Sakura or my mother. Today you will pay for all those years of suffering we have gone through!"

Konan could only watch as Pein charged after him, fists blazing in anger towards the crime lord.

* * *

"Sasori! We have to go downstairs!"

"Why? What we need to do is get you out of here. What we need to really do is get you out of here safely."

"Downstairs there is a room with five women that Orochimaru is keeping here to use as his wombs. And one of them was just giving birth when I was taken away. We have to get them out of here too! We can't have them suffer here anymore!"

Sasori stared at her and sighed, smirking, "You're right. Okay, lead the way Sakura." The rosette smiled, taking a few steps ahead of him as she pulled him down the same path that Kabuto took her on a short time ago.

* * *

Konan moved quickly, catching Pein before he hit the wall after a well-placed hit to the face by Orochimaru. "Pein! Are you all right?" she asked, watching him wipe the blood from his lip. "Yeah, I'm all right. But damn...he's tougher than I thought he would be. But I'm not going to give up!"

He pushed himself away from her arms, launching himself towards his target. However, Orochimaru moved quickly and Pein's attack missed. Suddenly he heard Konan let out a small yell, and he quickly turned around, his gray eyes flaring.

Orochimaru's arm wrapped tightly around Konan's waist, holding her still in her place, his hand holding her chin. "What a beautiful girl you are...I can see why Pein shows so much interest in you," he said, his voice a whisper in her ear. Cringing, Konan tried to kick him in order to escape, but quickly found her legs trapped as well.

"Orochimaru...let her go! LET HER GO!" Pein screamed, charging at him. Orochimaru smirked as he moved out of the way, Konan still in his grasp.

"Release her, you bastard!"

"You seem so passionate for this woman. You must love her so dearly."

He smirked as he took out a knife from behind his back, "So dearly enough...to watch her die..."

Konan gasped and struggled to pull away from his knife as Pein rushed to get her away from his grasp. "Konan!" he yelled, "Konan!"

Suddenly Konan felt herself being freed from Orochimaru's grip and the crime lord falling to the ground in an unconscious heap. In a rush, she ran beside Pein, instantly finding herself wrapped protectively in his arms, and saw Hidan, Itachi, and Deidara in the doorway, smiles on their faces.

"It seems like you two were getting into trouble," Itachi said.

"Seems like this bastard put you two through a lot of hell while we were gone," Hidan added.

"Good thing we're here now, hmm," Deidara finished, "Now come on. The police will be here any moment."

Konan smiled, allowing herself to pull away from Pein's arms. "Good...and Sasori should have Sakura out of here by now. Let's get out of here," she said, turning around to grab the redhead's hand.

She suddenly stopped by the look in Pein's eyes and his movements to grab the knife that the crime lord had dropped. "Pein?" she questioned as the others watched him curiously.

"He killed my mother...he kidnapped Sakura...he almost killed Konan...and from now on, he won't have a chance to do the same thing to anyone else again..."

Her tan eyes widened at the realization of Pein's actions, "Pein, you're not thinking...!"

He lifted the knife above Orochimaru's body, ready to make the final strike. She gasped, "No! Pein, you can't!"

The next moment, Pein found Konan's arm wrapped tightly around his body, her hands gripping onto his shirt, forcing him to drop the knife to the floor. "Konan, let me go. He needs to pay! He can't do this anymore!" he yelled at her.

"No! Pein, you can't do this! I know you want revenge for your mother, but isn't the idea of him gaining justice enough!? Murdering him will make you no better than him!"

Her hands gripped tighter on his shirt, "Please, Pein! Don't reduce yourself to that!"

Pein was silent and still, but at long last he placed his hands on hers, "Konan...let's go then, before the police arrive..."

* * *

Nine pages long of action! Yay! The next chapter will come out soon, with one of the moments you've been waiting for. Until then, enjoy!


	10. Revelations

Author's Note: Now that we've gotten past the climax of the story (yay!), I have some sad news: White Paper is almost over. Boo, I know! But there is still two more chapters left with a lot of good fluff and romance left, so keep on reading. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Chapter Ten: Revelations

"There they are!" Sakura exclaimed, watching as Konan and the others appeared out of the building, rushing to give her best friend a hug.

Konan smiled, "Thank goodness you're all right. We made it in time."

"Yeah. And we saved the other women that Orochimaru had trapped here too. Right now, Sasori is with Anya, the one that just gave birth while I was here. Come on!"

The rosette began to pull at Konan's hand, leading her towards Anya and Sasori while the others followed behind her. Laying on a folded-out cardboard box the woman laid, the newborn child on her chest sound asleep. "Sakura, are these more of your friends?" Anya questioned, taking notice of the new arrivals.

"Yes. This is Konan and Pein, along with Deidara, Hidan, and Itachi. These are the ones that helped me get away from Orochimaru, as well as help all of you guys get out of there," Sakura said, "Especially Konan. She's the one that informed everyone about me getting kidnapped."

"Sakura..."

"Thank you, all of you. Because of all of you, Ayumi and I are going to have a safe life together."

Pein's body stiffened, "Ayumi...?"

Anya smiled, "Yes. I'm naming my child after the brave woman who came here and fought against Orochimaru all those years ago. Although she tragically met her end in the struggle, she was the inspiration for all those seeking freedom from his grasp...both she and Sakura."

The redhead looked at the baby in Anya's arms, then turned and ran away, much to the shock of the others. "Pein! Pein, wait!" Konan shouted, chasing after him.

"What's wrong with him?" Sakura asked curiously. Itachi sighed, "It's a long story, but to make it a little simple, Ayumi was the name of his mother..."

* * *

"Pein! Pein, stop!"

Konan continued to run after him, but after all of the running and excitement of the adventure already, she found her energy drained and unable to keep up with him. "Pein! Please, please just talk to me!" she yelled, panting as she stopped running, "Please!"

"Damn it, I was close to gaining my revenge today! I was close to placing my mother's murder at ease! I was close to making sure that bastard could never hurt another person ever again!"

"But the way you were going about it was wrong! Murder for murder isn't right! If you were caught, you would just get involved in the law as he is! He'll get his justice, and you'll have your revenge--"

"And on top of all that, he almost killed you!"

Konan went silent, her body flinching to a stop. Pein turned around towards her, "I could've lost you today! That knife was so close to you...and I wasn't close enough to stop him! If it wasn't for the others..."

"Pein..."

She took his hand in hers and placed it on her cheek, "I'm still here though. I'm still alive and well. No scars, no wounds. I'm all right." Pein pulled his hand away, his brows furrowed in anger, "That's not the point! You could've died today, and you're the last person I want to lose! You're too precious to me to die!"

Her tan eyes widened, partly hurt but partly in shock, "Pein..."

"Konan, you're more than just a classmate or a friend to me. You're an angel to me. I don't want to...I can't lose you," he said softly, moving closer to her as his hands gently caressed her face, "I can't. I..."

His lips touched her gently, with care and need, and just as Konan closed her eyes, she felt the first drops of rain fall onto her forehead.

The rainy season had returned to Amekagure at last.

* * *

Konan yawned and stretched out her arms, her eyes fluttering open to the signs of sunlight upon her face. "It's...early morning? That's odd...last I remember it was getting to be later on in the day..." she muttered, "And...wasn't it raining?"

"It was, yesterday. You've slept the entire day away."

The teen sprung up from her resting place, a long couch in a very familiar room, to the sound of her best friend's voice. "Sakura! How the...? How the heck did I get to your place? And what do you mean I slept the entire day away?" she asked, confused as she stared at the smiling rosette.

"Well, after the police came, took Orochimaru and his cronies away, and the ambulance took the women to the hospital, Sasori and the others escorted me home. Itachi called up Sasuke and told him everything that happened, and right now he's actually gone to get us some breakfast," Sakura excplained, "As for you, Pein carried you all the way here after you passed out, probably from being too tired after all of the excitement yesterday. But it was so cute! He laid you down on the couch, whispered something in your ear, kissed you on the cheek and then left in this cool-guy-kind-of-way. It was like watching something out of a movie. Sure I had to try and figure out a way to get you out of your wet clothes before you got sick, but still, it was the cutest thing I've EVER seen."

Konan blushed as her best friend gushed over the details of the event that transpired in her sleep, her fingers brushing over her cheek before landing on her lips. She could only imagine what he whispered to her as she slept, but somehow she knew it had to connect with the words he told her in the moments before he kissed her so tenderly before the rain started to fall.

"Oh, you're awake? Good, because we were wondering how long you were going to be lazy."

"Sasuke, don't be mean!"

Sasuke smirked as he placed down the bag of fast food breakfast on the table, "I was kidding. Seriously, it's good to see you awake, Konan. We've been worried about you. Especially Pein; you have no idea how many text messages I've gotten from my brother asking if you were awake yet"

Konan blinked at the information, then stared down at her feet, not really paying attention to the change of clothes she was in. "Pein...he's really that worried about me..." she murmured softly, barely even audible to the others in the room.

"I'll go and get some plates for our food, okay?"

"Sure, all right."

After Sasuke left the room, Sakura's dreamy smile left her face and a teasing smile replaced it as she stared at Konan all-knowingly. "You love him, don't you?" she asked.

"Wh-what?"

"You. Love. Him."

"Don't be silly. I don't love Pein."

Sakura sighed, the smile still intact, "Oh, wake up and smell the paper roses. I saw you dance with him at Homecoming, and very saucily, I may add. Then you gave him your first kiss, and I KNOW that was your first kiss, so don't try to weasel out of it. On top of that, when I suggested going to Pein in the first place, you got extremely defensive about involving him, although you got him involved anyway, for the greater good I will say. When he got upset, you ran after him, and it seems like, judging by the way you touched your lips a bit ago, he kissed you again. IN THE RAIN. In the rain, Konan! How romantic is that! And I'm sure as heck that you didn't stop him, did you?"

Konan blushed, "No...I...I returned it..."

"See? See!? You are one-hundred-percent completely and totally in love with Pein Yahiko, Konan Nagato! Face the facts!"

The blue-haired teen's face lit up a brighter pink as the idea of her truly being in love with Pein began to surface. She never thought she was in love with him, but suddenly as Sakura repeated some of the events to her, it started to make sense...and the night before the rescue attempt, where she crawled into his bed and slept right next to him...

It was true; she was in love with Pein.

"Sakura...how come...all this time..." Konan muttered, the realization hitting her hard as a few tears began to form in her eyes. Sakura smiled, "Love is sometimes like time. You have to wait for the right moment. But sometimes it can come too early or too late. However, when that moment comes, it's the best moment in the entire world."

The rosette began to laugh, "Now listen to me. _I_ sound like the philosopher!" Konan smiled, laughing herself at the teasing before giving her best friend a big hug, "Thank you, Sakura...but now the big problem is...how will I tell Pein this?"

* * *

It's short, cheesy, but so sweet! Tada! But stay tuned for the final chapter with the exciting conclusion of White Paper!


	11. Love

Author's Note: This is it, everyone! The final chapter of White Paper! So how will Konan confess her newly-realized feelings to Pein? And will Pein return them? What is the meaning behind the name White Paper? All of these questions are about to be answered! Read on!

Chapter Eleven: Love

Three days has passed since the kidnapping of Sakura and the subsequent rescue of her by Konan, Pein, and the "Akatsuki" gang. Sakura, with the help of Sasuke to catch her up, had already returned to school, but Konan had stayed at home, getting over a cold that she had caught from standing out in the rain ("That's what you get for being all kissy-kissy!" Sakura teased when she caught the blue-haired teen still in bed the morning after the incident).

But that Friday morning, when her fever had disappeared, her stuffy nose became occasional sniffles, and her coughing became now-and-again frogs-in-the-throat, Konan returned to Spring Green Academy. In her arms, wrapped in a paper bag, was the Akatsuki outfit she wore those few days ago, clean and dry and ready to be returned to the proper owner.

That owner was also going to be the bearer of some very important, very surprising news. After all, it wasn't everyday that Konan Nagato confesses her feelings to someone, especially when that someone was Pein Yahiko.

As she walked across the school's ground, she looked around for the familiar red, spiky hair. She knew he had to be here; he wouldn't miss out on classes, especially when he knew she was returning to school that day.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red hair from behind the corner of the science building, and instantly Konan went to investigate. "Pein, is that--" she started to say, but her voice caught in her throat and her tan eyes widened.

She watched as Pein was in a heated make-out session with another girl from their class, his hands on her upper arm and pushing her against the wall.

The paper bag that held the outfit fell from Konan's arms and hit hard on the ground. Tears formed in her eyes as she turned and ran away as fast as her feet could carry her, away from the school grounds. Sakura's words rang through her head as she cried, her eyes ignorant to anyone that she was going past.

"_Love is sometimes like time. You have to wait for the right moment. But sometimes it can come too early or too late. However, when that moment comes, it's the best moment in the entire world."_

"I'm too late...I'm too late," Konan said through her tears as she ran through the gates of Spring Green and down the sidewalk towards home.

* * *

Pein managed to push the offending girl off of him, slamming her against the wall again and spitting onto the ground before wiping his lips, "Disgusting."

The brunette smirked, "Don't tell me you didn't love it, you bad boy. I know I did. Come on, let's go one more time, please..." Just as she started to lean in for another kiss, Pein growled and pushed the girl to the ground, moving back a few steps from her.

"Not on your life. I don't go for ugly sluts like you. You're in for a quick screw-and-leave, and then you're onto your next guy. Sorry, but I don't go for girls like you."

"Oh, so you go for goody-two-shoes bitches like that Konan?"

"Konan isn't a bitch. She is a beautiful, innocent angel, and if you dare backtalk her in front of me again, you will regret it. So go find another guy to give you your sick pleasure."

The girl huffed, getting herself off the ground and rushing off. Pein shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he muttered a few choice words under his breath, taking a few moments here and there to spit out the taste of nicotine from his mouth. "Now that all of that's done...stupid slut...gotta go and see if Konan's by her locker yet," he said, looking on ahead of him.

Until his foot met what he thought was a large rock. He looked down curiously to notice it was instead a paper bag. Carefully he leaned down and picked it up, looking it over before opening it up, figuring it was probably somebody's dropped lunch.

It was a shock to see instead the Akatsuki outfit inside, folded neatly inside with a note of thank you written in Konan's perfect script. "Did Konan drop this?" he asked aloud, "Did she see what happened...?"

Tucking the paper bag under his arm, he walked towards the main building, hoping deep inside that Konan was waiting at her locker so he could give her an explanation, an apology...and a confession that was long overdue.

* * *

Konan never appeared at school. As the teacher explained, she called in saying she was still ill. Sakura and Pein had both looked at each other curiously at that point, both knowing that she was well enough. It was lucky enough for them it was free study period which allowed the two to go to the back of the room and question the sudden disappearance of the blue-haired teen.

"I tried to text her, but it looks like she turned off her phone. I don't know why she would do that; she always has her phone on," Sakura said, putting her cell phone away, "On top of all that, she said she was going to be here today too. She was feeling better, and it's not like her to skip school. Heck, I doubt she would even skip on Senior Skip Day!"

Pein nodded, his expression solemn as he held up the paper bag, "Plus...why would she come here, drop this on the sidewalk, and then disappear? Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"She saw...today that brunette slut from our home-ec class came up and started to make out with me."

"WHAT!?"

Pein glared, "Sakura, quiet down. As I was saying, that girl started to make out with me, and I was trying to push her away, but I get the feeling Konan saw and misinterpret it in a different way."

"You think? Oi...no wonder she turned off her phone. Konan is mega upset, and especially this had to happen on the day she was going to tell you she loved you."

"What!?"

"Now you need to quiet down."

* * *

"This is Konan's house, and here's the spare key. Just give it back, okay?" Sakura said, giving Pein the extra key that she kept.

"I'm more fearful of her parents coming into the picture."

"Nah, no worries about that. Her mom's going to be at work for a few hours, so you got plenty of time to fix things and get your confessions out of the way. Just please, don't be cheesy. Seriously, I don't want to hear anything so cheesy when Konan tells me later."

"Girls..."

Sakura stuck out her tongue as she stepped off the porch with a wave, "Just go and get her Romeo."

With the rosette gone, Pein sighed and turned the key in the lock. He never thought he'd ever do something like this: going into the home of the one he loved to fix something wrong and then in turn confess his feelings. But then again, Konan wasn't just a usual girl. She was far different, whether you went by looks (blue hair, tan eyes), her personality (one moment quiet and demure, the next firm and defending), her physical (she did have quite a kick) and mental (how she managed to stay up under the pressure of almost being stabbed was a feat within itself) strength...it was all something not in a normal girl.

It further proved to him that Konan was more of an angel than anything else.

As he made his way to the staircase, he saw a light coming from the upstairs hallway and he assumed it came from her bedroom. Quietly, he made his way up the stairs, his mind wondering on what he should say, how he should say it.

He never knew how hard it was to say "I'm sorry", or to say "I love you".

When he made it to the top of the staircase, he turned to the left and stopped at the first room he saw, the light pouring out onto his face. He stared into the room, noticing Konan sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by white paper, her hands delicately making folds on one of the pieces. Her brow furrowed as she seemingly made a mistake, causing her to bundle up the paper and toss it into the wastebasket across the room. With a sigh, she picked up another piece and started to fold it, although it, too, ultimately met the same fate.

"Konan."

Her body stiffened and the paper that she held in her fingers fell to the floor yet again as the blue-haired teen turned to the doorway, "Pein...what are you doing here? How did you...?"

"Sakura let me in. Konan, why did you skip school today? Don't tell me it was to just make origami all day."

"I-I didn't skip school. I went for a bit, but I was still feeling sick, so I came home."

"After you dropped this, right?"

Pein held up the paper bag with the Akatsuki outfit still folded neatly inside and Konan looked away, tears forming in her eyes. His suspicions were confirmed, "You saw what happened, didn't you? And afterward, you dropped this and ran away, right?"

She said nothing, but then again, she didn't have to; her tears were more than enough to answer his questions. Pein's gray eyes observed her with sorrow, regret, "Konan...I'm sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen. It was all a mistake, I--"

"That's what all guys say, isn't it?"

He watched as Konan stood up, her eyes lit with anger through her tears. "They always say that it was a mistake, that it was an accident, that it was never meant to happen. How can girls even stand to fall in love when all guys do is take and play with their hearts!?" she screamed, "I thought that you wouldn't be like that Pein! I thought that maybe, just maybe, I found a guy that wouldn't break a girl's heart with such things like that, but I was wrong!"

"Konan, I--"

"I finally realized that I loved you, and today I was going to tell you, but instead I get my heart trampled on! I find out instead I was too damn late to tell you! How unfair is that!?"

Pein couldn't say a word as Konan choked on her tears, her hands balled into fists as she ranted and cried, "It took me too long to realize it! I should've known when I danced with you, or when I gave you my first kiss, or when I crawled into your bed and wrapped my arms around you, or when you kissed me in the rain, or--"

She found her voice cut off again for the second time that day, but this time not by surprise of her sight, but the shock of Pein's lips roughly against her own. His hands were on her waist, pushing her gently towards the wall as his tongue ran against her bottom lip, asking for permission to enter. With a moan, her lips parted, her arms wrapped around his neck tightly and her fingers ran through the hair at the nape of his neck.

In the back of her mind, she could hardly believe it; one moment she was crying and yelling at him, confessing her feelings, the next she was pinned against the wall, making out with him and finding it surprising that his tongue wasn't pierced like the rest of his face.

Reluctantly his lips left hers, trailing heated kisses down her jaw as he whispered against her, "I love you too, Konan...so much...and from now on...I'm never letting you go."

A few stray tears fell down her cheeks and he moved to lick the offending droplets from her skin. He stared into her tan eyes and flashed her a sincere smile before kissing her again, this time softer, sweeter.

The kiss of a true lover.

* * *

"By the way, Konan...what's with all the white paper?"

"I was trying to make a paper rose. Out of all the patterns in the world...it's the one I'm not very good at."

"Heh...I guess I'll have to show you. First, you start like this..."

* * *

Tada! Confessions made and lovers formed. And now, my loyal readers, this marks the end of White Paper! Hopefully you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. And don't worry; this really won't be the end of White Paper. I may make a sequel in the future, but on top of this, I'm cosplaying as Konan from this fic to Anime Central next year (so if you're an attendee there, be on the lookout for me!). Until my next story, ja ne!


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